Jim grew up in Richmond, VA and began his painting career in 1993 after completing his studies at the University of Virginia, School of Architecture. In addition to being a fine artist, Jim is a practicing Landscape Architect, Urban Planner, and Urban Designer. Mr. Smither currently teaches illustration and design at the Virginia Commonwealth University. Jim's academic credentials include a Master of Urban Design, University of Melbourne, Australia, 2005, a Master of Landscape Architecture, University of Virginia, 1993, and a Master of Urban and Regional Planning, the George Washington University, 1991.
Jim's formal training in Urban Design and Landscape Architecture has informed his painting by sharpening his focus for capturing the spatial and atmospheric qualities of landscapes and exploring the interplay of built and natural forms including the earth, sky, water, vegetation, buildings, and public spaces. He has chosen the mediums of watercolor and water based acrylic because of its unique ability to express the presence of light in places and represent times of day including night, twilight and midday. People are often included in his work in order to show how they interact with places and others and to give a sense of scale. He likes to work the full range of tonality - from light and medium transparent washes and glazes to rich colorful opaque darks. To create a sense of unity he often paints with a limited color palette.
