NC Landscape Painter from the Mountains to the Coasts

James Smythe

I was raised on the Virginia peninsula of Hampton Roads and got most of my early attention as the little artist in both elementary and high school. I was trained as an abstract artist while in college, but these days I’m a self-taught realist painter. I was accepted to my first juried art exhibition in 1962 so I have been in this business for a while now. Currently I am enjoying retirement from college teaching and teach an occasional workshop. The Great Smoky Mountains of NC where I live is the source of most of my landscapes subjects while coastal scenes from Nags Head are a close second favorite location.

Me at Fort Macon

The quality of the outdoor subjects I paint is related to my interest in expressing the essence of those subjects. For example, a mountain balsam is rendered by a personal application of paint using a brush, palette knife or marks made with pastel chaulk. What I hope the viewer will see in my newer works is my long time interest in abstract art. My best paintings lay somewhere between the real and the abstract. In this respect the windswept sand dune can be seen as autobiographical.  

Lake Attraction, Oil, 24″ x 48″, 2007

 

Split Rail Patterns, Oil, 24" x 30", 2007

                                  Golden Sands, Oil, 20″ x 32″, 2008

Color Me Young, Oil, 16" x 20", 2006

 

 

 

Smoky Light, Oil, 10" x 30", 2006