Maurice Schmidt, according to director and producer Vanessa Reiser, paints with immense tenderness. He shows affection for his subject, whether they are plants, animals, or people. In Tree Trimmer, Autumn Palm, Schmidt shows the seasons changing; foliage turning from green to brown. The leaves are folding, burning, cracking, and crumbling. This work challenges the viewer to contemplate time and its progression. The subject is not the plants and the water that consume the composition. Rather, the subject is the season of autumn. Like the Impressionists before him, Schmidt captures the ephemeral moments of daily life. Like the Realists, Schmidt represents his subjects truthfully. There is no artificiality or caricaturing.

Schmidt was born and raised in New Braunfels. In 1957, Schmidt took courses at the Institute of Art at San Miguel de Allende in Mexico. He earned his BFA from the University of Texas at Austin and his MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art. From 1965 until 2002, he served as a professor of art at Texas A&M University Kingsville. He has also worked as an art critic and lecturer.