“I love fresh air painting on site, where I feel close to God. It’s when I work quickly
to capture a perfect moment of light, life, and time.”
Bud Smith, who painted under the name “Jacob Towle,” was one of the founding members of the Newburyport Ten plein air painters. In the 1990s, Bud joined watercolorists Carol Reynolds and Marie Crone and others, to paint outdoors in an informal fellowship. As time went by, more painters joined, and in the early 2000s Bud suggested, perhaps a bit tongue-in-cheek, that the group identify as “The Newburyport Ten,.”
He became a full-time artist in 1999. In addition to being one of the originators of the Newburyport Ten, he was involved in the arts both locally and, through Veterans’ groups, nationally. He served as President of the Greater Haverhill Art Association, was a past member of the Board of Directors of Newburyport Art Association, and a member of the Lyme (CT) Art Association.
Bud painted as “Jacob Towle” to honor two of his forefathers who mustered in at Newbury and fought at Bunker Hill together. His love of New England history and scenery was often reflected in the subjects he chose to paint.
He was a Vietnam War veteran who became a landscape painter, in part, to help relieve the distress that he lived with following his return to civilian life. He became a recruiter for the group. In 2001 he told me about the group and suggested that I visit the Newburyport Art Association and see the show. I did and became a member of the NAA and the (then unnamed) group. He spotted Margery Jennings painting on the street and invited her to join the group, which she did. –Dan Shaw
I met Bud Smith when I was working at the Newburyport Art Association, and I knew him as one of the “3 Amigos,” who painted with the group that became the Newburyport Ten. The three were Bud Smith, Bob Gertz and Dan Shaw. They seemed to have so much fun together. At some point I was invited to paint with the group, and lasting friendships were born. Bud was so funny, friendly and kind. He loved to go to yard sales and find old treasures. One day he presented me with a little statue of the dancer by Degas. He had found it at a yard sale and knew I liked to dance, so he bought it for me. I still treasure that little statue and the memory of Bud’s wonderful spirit. –Sue Spellman
Bud was the epitome of generosity to other artists. Wherever one traveled with Bud, fellow painters would break into smiles at his approach. By inviting me to the Thursday painting group, he introduced me to the people who have become some of my closest friends and re-oriented me from New Hampshire to the back roads and quiet places of North Shore Massachusetts. –Margery Jennings
