David L. Smith (artist)
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David Lewis Smith (1921-) was born in Dayton, Ohio and is a well-known Miami Valley artist who works in watercolor and pen and ink. Smith experimented with a variety of techniques, but romantic realism — not to be confused with photo-realism — runs through his work. "The idea," he told critic Hubert Meeker, "is to take a scene that people have looked at a million times, a very mundane slice of the cityscape, and try to see it as if for the first time. To find the hidden poetry."
When he was six years old, his family moved to the Dayton suburb Oakwood, Ohio where he received encouragement from a high-school art teacher, who helped him obtain a scholarship to the Dayton Art Institute. There he studied for two years with John King, Robert Koepnick, and Edward Burroughs. In 1939, Smith enrolled as a fine arts major at Miami University. While at Oxford, Ohio he studied with Marsden Hodgin, Edwin Fulwider and George R. Hoxie. After a military interlude during which he served for three years in the Army overseas, he returned to Miami where he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1946. In 1950 he received his Master of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa where he studied with printmaker Mauricio Lasansky, James Lechay, and art historian.
Smith combined the careers of art teacher and professional artist, specializing in cityscapes and architectural subjects including many commissioned paintings of private homes. He taught art at Fairmont High School (1965-83) and at the University of Dayton (1965-75). Since 1983 he has taught painting and drawing at Oakwood Community Center and the Dayton Art Institute, emphasizing composition and color relationships.
His distinctive drawings and paintings of Dayton and southwest Ohio landmarks are well-known in the area, many collected in his Dayton Notes, scenes of familiar civic landmarks on notecards, have been available since 1965. He also designs unique wrapping papers.
His works are in the corporate collections of MeadWestVaco, the University of Dayton, JP Morgan Chase, NCR Corp, and many others. His work has been in juried shows at the Huston Museum of Fine Arts, Cincinnati Art Museum, Dayton Art Institute, and many others. He has also had many one man shows.
His wife Kay is also an artist, known for nature and floral studies. She works mainly in monotype.
David Smith is a Silver Palette member of the Dayton Society of Painters and Sculptors and a member of the Western Ohio Watercolor Society. He has been a President of these groups as well as a board member of the Miami Valley Arts Council. David is a member of The Cincinnati, Ohio McDowell Society and the Dayton Visual Arts Center.
