After dropping out of his art class in college, Blake Hurt spent a year or so in New York City before returning to his native Virginia. On the spur of the moment, he exercised his considerable negotiating skills to buy from a local art store a remaindered supply of oil paints at a substantial discount. This resulted in his ownership of a collection of some 84 large tubes of oil paint, mostly green. At the conclusion of the transaction, and in appreciation, the dealer threw in a display case. With such a grand opportunity to paint landscapes, Blake has ever since been fanning the flame of talent through continued practice. This has gone on for a long time and, in the process, he has taken delight in experimenting in oils, watercolors and digital works.