Marshall Ellison Smith Sr.

Marshall Ellison Smith Sr. (21 November 1933 - 14 May 1999) was an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker based in Alapaha, Georgia, in the Southeastern United States.
Reviews from the artist's bio sheet circa 1980 to 1985:
"Self-taught or not, Smith is not a primitive painter, or a hit-and-miss artist. He is a serious craftsman who understands and practices good form, color, composition, and perspective. He is not confined to one groove, and he hits the jackpot nearly every time, so far as communication is concerned... They have mood. The style may perhaps best be described as poetic realism. In these paintings the line is rather soft and melting, but this is not overdone. Smith is one artist to put your money on."
Doris Reino
Miami Herald Art Review
"Marshall Smith's new work at the Chicago Artist Guild is a must see. We liked the small watercolor titled 'Paddy look what you're doing to yourself' best only because of its social impact. We are looking forward to this artist's next exhibition."
Art Reviewer for the
Chicago Sun Times
"To see a Smith exhibit as I have just seen is to stand with the Renaissance Artist, he is truly one. The sheer power and beauty of his work at the Baker Gallery is astonishing."
Lester Hemingway
Miami News
From the artist himself on the same bio sheet:
Marshall Smith knew from his earliest years that he wanted to be an artist. The seasons of his childhood were divided betweeen the then-rural countryside around Miami, Florida, and the gently rolling farmland of southern Georgia. Those early scenes provided subject matter and inspriation for the mature artist, as well as for his yhounger self. Later travel and experience have had their effect as well. Few artists have led a less sedentary life: Smith served in the U.S. Army during the Korean conflict; raced cars on the CAN-AM circuit; did salvage driving with Jack Slack; played bit parts for Ivan Tours films; and sold everything from shoes to sewing machines to baby grand pianos. During all those years, he continued to draw and paint, to exhibit and teach.
Marshall Smith is one of a group of painters whose work defies classification, for he is as equally at home with Impressionism and Abstraction, as he is with Realism. The artist's overall work is poetic in approach, sensitively conceived and speaks to the viewer. Currently he is involved in a series of realist paintings that reflect the landscapes which shaped his vision in early childhood. Yet his artist's eye is not clouded by nostalgia; he looks anew at familiar scenes and paints them in a clear light.
The best part about getting the 1964 Daytona Beach Florida 2nd Annual Sidewalk Art Festival Third in Show Prize:
Might not exactly be getting Second Place in the same show:
But Getting First Place at the same show sure makes up for it:

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