ARTIST STATEMENT

As a native of southwest Virginia, I have long admired the  good humor, the fierce independence, and the forthright- ness of the people who inhabit the Southern Appalachians.  It is with some melancholy that I have witnessed the homo- genization of our modern world creeping even into the hol- lows and ridges of Grayson County, my home. As the old- er generation passes away, onecan only wonder at the fra- gility of our heritage. From a young age I have been drawn to the realism and  the treatment of light and shadow in the paintings of the Old Masters. The luminosity of Vermeer's window scenes  and the chiaroscuro of Rembrandt are stirring in the way  they illuminate the human spirit. In my work I have sought  to portray the simple dignity of people--to search out the uniqueness, the 'mannishness' of man. Personality and all that makes man 'man' intrigues me, especially in the dwind- ling light of post-modernism.

We live in a world filled with tension and confusion, the quest for equilibrium a natural endeavor of the human spirit.  Still life painting, it seems to me, should embody just that-- a stillness, a sense of order, balance, and calm.  I paint still lifes, in part, to express a steadiness and serenity, to create order and a place where the viewer can go to rest and reflect.The success of the paintings should be judged in their ability to elicit grace, solemnity and tranquility.

Traditionally, I look back to the French master Jean-Baptiste- Simeon Chardin, who invested his pictures with unique solidity, intimacy and unpretentious dignity. He painted with the ability to lift simple people and common objects into a world of quiet perfection, fostering a contemplation of the universal significance of everyday things. In our increasingly secular and artificial times, realism paradoxically can offer a means of transcendence. The viewers connection to the reality of a scene can be treansformed into a meditation and communion with the world.  To challenge the fundamental isolation of the individual is a worthy goal of art. Bill's Resume Price Schedule Back