ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES - MIKE SMITH

Mike Smith finds inspiration for his subjects and colors in the gardens and rural setting of his home and studio in the Pacific Northwest. But, while pets wander through many of his watercolors, loosely based on the artist's life, and gardens are full of the riotous bloom of the idyllic pastoral or small-town life, several of his equally successful works depict more exotic fauna. Giraffes, an elephant, a lion, too, draw on Smith's profound artistic experience and spiritual delight in the forms of nature. Infusing his work with this fine sense of celebration and with the pleasures of home and commitment to its care and nurturing, Smith creates works of great charm and visual excitement that are widely collected and exhibited.