A Mormon artist and resident of Utah from 1968, Gary Ernest Smith creates wide-view, tonalist landscapes, many of them of cultivated farmland, based on his religious commitment to create work that is uplifting to the human spirit. However, he does not regard himself as a painter for the sake of doctrine but more as one who uses universal symbols to suggest that all of life comes from Mother Earth. He is especially interested in landscapes that are out of the ordinary.

His painting focus on rural America stems from his background of growing up in rural Oregon. He regards himself as a Western artist because he focuses on issues of the West, but he is not directed to cowboy and Indian subject matter.

Smith works primary in oil w...