William Becknell Painting

I am a story teller using visual images. I paint the experiences of my life. Situations I have lived through. Places I have been. The art was done in plein air, studio and from memory. My art has been described as living somewhere between reality and expression, contemporary and realism. Sometimes I paint fast, without a duplicated procedure. My paintings evolve constantly, changing in form, technique and color; some ending with a pure impression and others more defined. Some were painted in 2 hours and some 1 yr to 30 years. The manipulation of shape and textures is an on-going process and shapes my work into a personal style with a universally recognizable talent to create signature art. I was educated in Graphic Design being taught the Armin Hoffman "Swiss Style" program of visual expression learning the relationships of point, line, and shape. That discipline became the structure of self evaluation. An artist has to know themselves and be true to their unique capabilities. I am an extemporaneous painter with painting as the adventure of exploration. Art critics and judges looking at my body of work have described my art work as such: " I quickly really connected to the visual style of your paintings, creating a very impressionistic look on American Life. I love the everyday attitude to your subjects, representing figures, landscapes, and still life images through such a perspective that makes these images feel as if they are already a part of the daily lives of the viewer. Your paintings translate a very resonant feeling of nostalgia, making the viewer feel connected to something so familiar, yet distant, and almost unattainable. Your art conveys such a strong sense of space, stripping away so much real world context that we are all so heavily exposed to, and transporting the viewer into this world within the frame, where everything feels so much simpler and peaceful. I found your art to be an incredibly refreshing experience, as a viewer. It so successfully creates a sense of space and mood, emotionally moving the viewer into the world of the painting, and filling them with nostalgia, and a sense of peace. " Charlie Kassabian, RAW