Instead of painting every bolt and rivet, Smith blends colors to add motion and subtlety to harsh lines, allowing the eye and brain of the viewers to connect the dots and lines. The result is a sense of reality, atmosphere, and energy. Smith has created some 2,000 paintings and drawings on a variety of subjects, but he is best known as an artist of naval aviation. In 1979, the Navy's Flight Demonstration Squadron named him an Honorary Blue Angel. He lives in Rancho Mirage, Calif., with his wife Betty.
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