Paintings

My practice constists of oil on panel and multimedia works of oil on panel and video. All are done in the same surrealist style focusing on Pacific Northwest flora. This gallery focuses on the paintings. I have a second gallery on SeattleArtists for the multimedia work. Always looking for new opportunities to show or new commisions. You can visit my website to see more examples of my work. https://www.johnsmither.net/

Meditation 07_04_2026

2026 · 36" x 28" · oil on panel

For sale

Northwest Bouquet #5

2025 · 36" x 24" · oil on panel

For sale

The cast of characters for this painting consists of madrone, native rhododendron, salal, evergreen huckleberry and native trailing blackberry. For this grouping I wanted to focus on those plants that tend to show up in areas whose climate is dictated by the ocean air. It is part of a series of “bouquets” or collections of species assembled in a my mildly surreal, tangled style.

Northwest Bouquet #7

2025 · 36" x 24" · oil on panel

For sale

Another in my bouquet series. This one is focused on groupings more inland as you might find in Seward Park or our lowland forests at the base of the foothills. Salmon berry, salal, and Nootka rose are the main characters.

Northwest Bouquet #8

2026 · 36" x 24" · oil on panel

For sale

A nightime bouquet featuring trailing blackberry and oregon grape.

Traditional Lake #2

2023 · 40" x 30" · oil on panel

For sale

This is based on Tradition Lake Trial in the Issaquah Alps. During the pandemic I spent a lot of time there, so I wanted to pay a bit of homage. Though you can sometimes hear the highway or the gun club, it provides a haven within easy reach of my home on Beacon Hill. Layered over the evergreen forest are references to big leaf maple, trailing blackberry, salal and huckleberry.

Seward Park Floor #2

2025 · 18" x 18" · oil on panel

For sale

Native trailing blackberry and other ground cover create and abstracted collage on the forest floor.

Seward Park Floor #1

2025 · 18" x 18" · oil on panel

For sale

Forest Walk #1 (installed at VML Marketing office)

2025 · 48" x 270" · oil on panel

Client needed a showpiece for their new main conference room which is visible to all the minute they step off the elevator. Because it is in a conference room, the work needed to be calm, engaging but not overwhelming. We went with an abstracted PNW forest montage to accomplish this. I provided five different configurations of panels size/arrangement, and we decided on this one.