Collection: Terry Smith

Terry Smith, a Detroit native, has been part of the Commercial Art Scene since 1953, initially specializing in Automotive Illustration. Using traditional tools like art boards, Windsor Newton Designers’ watercolors, paint brushes, and airbrushes, he worked on car illustrations for catalogs and national ads for major automotive companies in the late '60s and early '70s.

Throughout the late sixties and early seventies he was painting car illustrations for catalogs and national ads for the big three automotive companies. In 1972, Smith collaborated with Roger Penske, contributing to the design of color schemes for Penske-sponsored race cars during the Mark Donahue and Peter Revson era. Notably, he designed the color schemes for the L&M Porsche 917-10 and Sunoco 917-30 Can Am cars.

In 1987, Smith transitioned to computer-based design, working with his son on a Macintosh computer. While focusing on brochures, logos, training manuals, and line drawings until 2005, he didn't explore full-color car illustrations on the computer until his retirement in 2010.