Matt Smith, Towards the Perlata, 6x8, $1,400

Matt Smith

Matthew Read Smith was born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1960, but moved to Scottsdale, Arizona, at the age of three. His family lived abroad for some time and Matt painted in Germany, Austria and Italy. He has lived mostof his life in Arizona where he developed a deep attachment and respect for the Sonoran Desert. Graduating from ASU with a BFA in painting, Matt also spent time studying the traditional styles of landscape masters such as Maynard Dixon, William Herbert Dunton and Edgar Payne. Most of the time, Matt can be found painting en plein air from southern Arizona to the Canadian Rockies or from the California Coast to the mountains of Colorado. "I respect the tradition behind classical landscape painting and am particularly inspired by pristine locations. I enjoy working in areas where one can travel for miles without seeing the influence of man."