Bill Sturman

Medium: Watercolor Painting

CREATIVE BEGINNINGS: Bill taught college science for approximately 30 years and retired in 2000. During those years he had little time to pursue his interests in art, but consistently sculpted and painted. Since retiring Bill has immersed himself in watercolor painting and in the local art community. He was instrumental in helping found the Columbia Center for the Arts and was Gallery chair for many years. Bill is a founding member of 301 Gallery. 

ARTISTIC PATH: Painting regularly for the last twenty years, Bill developed his interest in watercolor painting by looking at a lot of art — in books, museums, shows, and galleries — and then by taking several watercolor classes and workshops.

INSPIRATION AND PROCESS: Bill is totally enthralled with transparent watercolor pigments! “I love the transparency of the color as well as the unexpected textures that are produced as the water carries the pigments over and into the paper. The subject matter that has captured my interest the most is close-ups of nature: flowers, fruits, foliage, birds, butterflies, clouds, and so on. However, I’ve also enjoyed creating atmospheric portraits of our northwest landscapes and abstract compositions.” 

Arranging these subjects into interesting compositions is a continuing challenge and one which is a basic part of converting a rectangle of paper into a creation which holds the viewer’s interest, even after multiple viewings. 

Bill is most attracted to simple compositions, ones that have relatively few objects and a single area of focus. In the same vein, he is also attracted to compositions which have a relatively limited range of colors and a dominant cool or warm tone, rather than a broad mix of colors and tones. 

LIFE AS A GORGE ARTIST: Bill’s studio is in his home in the upper Hood River Valley where he has lived, off the grid, for 40 years. “I love the natural beauty that surrounds me and that inspires many of my paintings. I never tire of being outside, walking in the woods, enjoying and studying the flora and fauna.”

HOW TO LEARN MORE:

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