Jean Smith: Oil

As an artist everything I see God created, from nature to the emotions of man. Since I am made in His likeness I have inherited a portion of that creativeness as my own. I think an artist is one who intentionally and purposefully creates from the heart something perceptive, something imaginative, something beautiful to make a difference in the world. I want my paintings to be interesting, to make you smile, to wonder why that boy has that look on his face or to just thank God for this wonderful beautiful life. I am intrigued by the human figure expressing the many facets of its Creator. Portraiture and figures are my favorite things to paint, although I’m branching out with abstracts, landscapes and painting during worship services.

My paternal grandmother taught me how to sew at the age of seven. That launched me into a lifelong pursuit of creative craftsmanship and problem solving. I am mostly self-taught. “Green Tina”, my first ever oil painting was accepted into a national show in 2004 through the Associated Artists of Winston-Salem, NC. I am currently a member of the Portrait Society of America and Oil Painters of America. I have an AAS in Media Production from El Paso Community College and entered the world of TV News as an intern. For 7 of the 10 years of my TV career I created and operated electronic graphics for live news.

I sign my paintings as “jmps”. The short explanation is, these are my initials: Jean Marie Piszkin (maiden name-Polish/Russian descent) Smith. JMPS Fine Art is in collections in the United States and Iceland.