William Brown, Art in Public Places

Friends of the Saratoga Springs Library Café

49 Henry St, Saratoga Springs, NY

December 1st-January 31st, 2025

Artist Statement 

I am a self-taught artist who began drawing at the age of 5, working in pencil and crayon, with my subject matter primarily clipper ships and railroads. I continued to draw and paint periodically through the age of 24. Unfortunately, I essentially ceased drawing or painting for the following 45 .years, painting only a couple of watercolors a few years ago, largely copying Turner’s works. When my wife retired and we moved to Shushan, New York, I was determined, while continuing with my energy consulting business, to redirect much of my energy back to painting and drawing. As soon as we moved, I enrolled in courses at Saratoga Arts for pastel, photorealistic drawing, and portrait painting.

As I develop my own style, I value and try to copy the seascape and landscape works of Turner and Constable in watercolors, the portrait works of Rubens and Quentin La Tour in pastel, and the human figure works of Michelangelo and Da Vinci in drawing. As such, my original artwork thus far both “fuse” and “infuse” my chosen media and masters.

My goal is to become as proficient an artist in drawing, watercolor, and pastel as I can be, while stylistically bring an old masters influence to traditional subjects, including landscapes, seascapes, portraiture, and the full human figure, all within the context of a contemporary world.