of the people who inhabit the Southern Appalachians. It is with some melancholy that Ihave witnessed the homogeniza-
tion of our modern world creeping even into the hollows and ridges of Grayson County, my home. As the older gener-
ation passes away, onecan only wonder at the fragility 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 illu-
minate 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 dwindling 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 calm. Traditionally, I look back to
the French master Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin, who invested his pictures with unique solidity, intimacy and unpreten-
tious dignity. He painted with the ability to lift simple people and common objects into a world of quiet perfection, foster-
ing 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
Back