Ford Smith

As the son of an Air Force serviceman stationed in a small Japanese village, Ford's artistic sensibilities began to take root under the nurturing eye of an elderly Japanese painter. After moving back to the States, he enrolled at the University of Mississippi in pursuit of his BFA, later graduating with a degree in Painting,

Ford's sense of nature is not a Romantic's wild and angry universe. Rather, he recalls the startling color combinations and mesmerizing horizons, then blends those images with his own passion and optimistic philosophy of life. The easy precision, subtlety and repose of his paintings may well derive from that Asian aesthetic he developed in his early years.

The intensity of working over a single piece to finish it makes the process very physical. He lets layers of paint - acrylics on canvas - drip and flow, just letting things happen. "I was taught in college to let the paint find the imagery," he recalls. Still, there is less accident in achieving these surfaces than one might think. They're a study in control and spontaneity, because while Ford may allow the materials to find their own expression, he then moves to manipulate them to achieve their unique composition and texture. Often, he'll embellish the canvas with plaster granules scattered across the wet surface as color and texture are forced to intersect.

"Like life, my work often transforms from its original idea," he muses, "But following a creative instinct wherever it leads is where the fun and fascination lie. Each painting is a unique journey with an undefined destination."