NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
March 12, 2008

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Ann Dee Lee
Public Information Director
Oklahoma Arts Council
(405) 521-2931
anndee@arts.ok.gov

TEXTURES OF THE WEST EXHIBIT AT STATE CAPITOL

Oklahoma City, OK -- Bill Williams records places and moments that touch his soul.
A professional artist for more than 50 years, Williams says that before brush touches paper or canvas, he considers the mood and the feeling of the subject that inspired him. “I paint and photograph images that have drawn me toward connections of the past, present and between different cultures from around the world.”

His exhibit, Textures of the West, will be on display in the first floor of the East Gallery at the State Capitol from March 17 through May 11. Curated by the Oklahoma Arts Council, the East Gallery is open daily from 8:30-5:00.

Working from his Norman studio, he has become a devotee of plein-air painting, a French term which means "in the open air," and is particularly used to describe the act of painting outdoors. He has traveled across the United States and throughout the world painting and taking photographs in places such as Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Spain, Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Italy, Africa, and Israel.

For 24 years he worked as the Art Director for the University of Oklahoma publications office and as a graphic designer, photographer and illustrator producing thousands of publications. An Oklahoma native, Williams earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Tulsa. He has studied painting from Oklahoma's own Charles Banks Wilson and with internationally known watercolor artist Milford Zornes of California and credits both of these teachers for inspiring him.

Zornes advised him that in order to be the best artist you can be, it is “important to have a design that conveys a message, and that every work of art convey a feeling or emotion." Williams explained that he paints images with a conscious regard for the principles of design and feels a sense of duty to portray a positive statement in a traditional style.

For more information, contact Ann Dee Lee, Public Relations Director, Oklahoma Arts Council, (405) 521-2931 or anndee@arts.ok.gov.

ABOUT THE OKLAHOMA ARTS COUNCIL

The Oklahoma Arts Council is a state agency whose mission is to improve lives through the arts by promoting and sustaining the development of a thriving arts environment, which is essential to quality of life, education and economic vitality for all Oklahomans.

---End---