Gerald Smith received his B.F.A. at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick and then attained a Master's Degree in Studio Painting at the University of Saskatchewan. At both institutions, he received many awards and bursaries. Upon graduation, he taught at community colleges throughout Saskatchewan for two years, followed by five years teaching Fine Art at the degree level at the University of Saskatchewan as part of its off campus program. For the past 14 years, Gerald has been a regular instructor at the Ottawa School of Art. During the summer of 1999, he taught a course in landscape painting in France under the auspices of ICSCIS, called "Atelier Monet", covering some of the places painted by Claude Monet. He also taught art appreciation for 6 years for the City of Ottawa. He has participated in numerous art exhibitions across Canada and is represented in many public and private collections. Gerald has completed four murals to date and is currently working on a large 40' x 6' mural, containing over 60 figures, for a recently constructed church in Kanata. His teaching philosophy stresses the fundamentals of good craftsmanship but he also believes in letting the individual student develop his or her own style and approach to making art. To that end, he regards himself largely as a facilitator in the creative process.