I was born in the early 1950’s at Harris Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas. My parents owned a house near the intersection where N. Beach and Hollis streets collide. For a time, one of the greatest snow cone stands in the world was on that corner. When I was 12 years old I had it all –- a tree house, a bicycle and a ball glove.

I liked sports and was musically and artistically inclined. After High School I majored in Fine Art for 2 years and began working in the custom sign industry. Eventually, I moved into sales in the Billboard Advertising genre in San Antonio. In the mid 1980’s I began working professionally as a photographer.

Although I appreciate all types of art, photo-graphics and wood surfaces have become the cornerstone for most of my visual concepts. The architecture and urban landscape of the past has a great appeal to me, especially the early 1900’s. The country had an industrial-age simplicity then, before suburbia became a universe and the chain stores sunk in so deep. I like old bricks, old neon signs, hand painted advertising, old doors, alley ways and rusted fire escapes. I love driving the back roads cross-country because it doesn’t take long to encounter a small town. And somewhere in that town will be an old gas station, bank or building with a wall that has a chipped and faded advertisement from a business long since gone. I can hear country blues coming from an unseen porch or open window. It’s a little melancholy but the scene is always at peace with itself. And from that image I gather up a part of ArtBlues.

I desire to create items that are interesting, solidly crafted and have a deliberate sense of the past. I enjoy making these pieces and hope you enjoy seeing them.

Thanks for your interest.

Blessings to all.

Doug Smith
ArtBlues