Brian Smith

This Sheffield born former architect and prolific mark-maker, Brian Smith, has been painting professionally for over two decades. A keen observer of people, home and abroad, he chooses pure watercolour, with occasional forays into mixed media, to capture the subjects of his Fine Art paintings.

The built environment, the spaces in and around buildings and the comings and goings of the people who occupy them are all subjects which often grab his attention, with mood, atmosphere and most of all light his prime focus.
Scenes are painted either on the spot (he rarely travels far without a sketch pad and painting materials) or in a more detailed style at his Sheffield base, from sketches, notes and photographs made en plein air.
Allocating his time between Fine Art painting and Art Education his commitments include Art and Design residencies in primary and secondary schools; tutoring in life drawing at Sheffield’s Millennium Gallery and lecturing in Observation and Communication at Hallam University. With 20 years of teaching experience, Brian has introduced innumerable students to the world of watercolour painting, through his regular painting courses and personal tuition.

As an experienced speaker and demonstrator, whether to Art Groups or the uninitiated, his painting workshops and trouble-shooting “surgeries” provide a fascinating insight into how an artist views the world.