Indiana artist, Jerry Smith, has had a life-long interest in art, although opting for a business degree in college.  He began oil painting as a hobby in the early 1970’s, switching to watercolor shortly thereafter. Primarily through self-training and workshops he left his business career behind and has been a full-time artist since the mid-seventies. Included among his workshop teachers were Indiana painters Louise Hansen and Floyd Hopper, both of whom had a big influence on his work. Jerry was introduced to plein-air painting in a 1976 workshop taught by Don Stone in Rockport , MA . This trip also inspired a fascination with the painting opportunities offered by the New England coastline and has had a major impact on his work. Annual painting trips to the Maine coast compliment his Indiana landscape painting.

 Shortly after taking up painting, Jerry switched to watercolors. He worked almost exclusively in this medium for many years with occasional experiments with acrylics. His paintings now include oils, watercolors, and acrylics.

Jerry maintains signature memberships in the American Society of Marine Artists, the International Society of Acrylic Painters, the Watercolor Society of Indiana, Small Painting Society of Brown County, Rocky Mountain National Watermedia, and the National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society. He is a member of Indiana art associations including the Brown County Art Guild, Indiana Artist Club, Indiana Heritage, Indiana Plein-Air Painters Association, and is a charter member and Cardinal Fellow of the Watercolor Society of Indiana. He is also a member of the Hoosier Salon and has been included in over 30 Hoosier Salon exhibitions since the mid-seventies. His work has been selected for the American Watercolor Society annual exhibit. He is the author of a book published by International Artist, Expressive Landscape in Acrylic. He has been featured in the pages of International Artist Magazine and the Artist’s Magazine.  He has published a retrospective of his work entitled Common Ground and a book of plein air paintings entitled Gems of Montgomery County.

Jerry lives in Crawfordsville with his wife, Cindy, and maintains a restored, century old store-front building in downtown Crawfordsville as his studio/gallery.