Biography

As one of the world’s foremost contemporary artists, Atlanta painter Ford Smith creates his radiantly serene landscapes with a vivid imagination and skilled precision reflective of decades-long experience, classical training and education—and a curious mind that continuously challenges the genre.

With signature vibrancy and phantasmagorical interpretations of trees, water, sky and other natural elements, he has effectively reinvented the modern landscape with this distinctive style of Expressionist painting.

Ford Smith’s artistic journey is one of inspiration, having returned to painting at the age of 50, following 25 years as Atlanta’s top fashion and commercial photographer--proving it’s never too late to follow your passion or your dream. His art career began in 1972, when he graduated with a degree in Painting (BFA) from the University of Mississippi. Fresh out of college, he gravitated to a job in graphic design to support himself which lead to an illustrious photography career. “I knew I was meant to be a painter, but my photography career was all-consuming and it left me with no time to paint.”

It wasn’t until the year 2000, on his 50th birthday, Ford chose to follow his true artistic heart.  He sold his successful photography business and made the leap into the world of fine art painting. He never took another professional photograph since.  He debuted his distinctive landscapes at a premier show in New York City where he and his stunning works were, quite literally, an overnight sensation.

Ford believes everything in his professional background served both of his careers. He recognizes that his classical art education made him a better-than-average professional photographer and, when he returned to painting after 25 years, having studied light and composition on such an extraordinary level (for most painters), that same photography career helped shape the artist he is today. 

Ford typically paints using no references, instead he follows a creative instinct with a near photographic memory that allows him to recall perfect perspective, composition and incandescent light. Every Ford Smith painting emerges 100% from the artist’s imagination, with an ease and precision rarely seen in the art industry.

Acclaimed by art critics, aficionados and collectors, Ford Smith and his distinctive landscape paintings have been featured in multitudinous art industry publications, newspapers, and major design/lifestyle magazines such as Architectural Digest and Florida Design. His work is exhibited in more than 20 fine art galleries from New York to Beijing, China and in thousands of private and corporate collections on 5 continents.