Asheville – Asheville Gallery of Art Presents Bill George as the November Artist of the Month with his show titled, “Collections.”
Visitors to the gallery have the entire month to view George’s paintings, done in a style he describes as “Realism/Naturalism.” Visitors can view an assemblage of new artwork, “Collections,” at the Asheville Gallery of Art from November 1 through 30, with an event to meet the artist on Friday, November 5 from 5-8pm. The gallery is open every day from 11am-6pm.
George’s paintings compile a variety of subjects, done in a series form. He is displaying two to three paintings of six different series he completed. His “Realism/Naturalism” style portrays the subject as it actually appears in real life but stops just short of looking like a photograph.
Bill has been interested in art from an early age, and previously worked as a graphic designer and illustrator. He owned his own graphic design firm in New York City and began painting in 1999 as a creative alternative to graphic design, which is digitally produced.
He works in a variety of mediums including pastel, watercolor, gouache, charcoal, pen & ink, etching and fresco. However, his main focus remains on oil painting. His process is an indirect method, in which the final effects in a painting are gradually built up by placing several layers of paint, one over the other. The upper and final layers modify but do not altogether conceal the lower layers.
Colorful cars
One of his paintings from the Antique Car Series, “1957 Cadillac Eldorado” is a 30” X 40” oil-on-wood.
“From my first visit to the Estes-Winn Antique Car Museum, I was immediately inspired to recreate these cars in paint with visual impact,” George said.
The vintage cars were unique, originally bold and beautifully styled. Many feature luxurious and sporty details, becoming sleek in silhouette by the 1950s. “Picasso”, from the Icon Series is a 30” X 24” oil-on-canvas. “This painting of Pablo Picasso is one of the ‘Icon’ series of reimagined and abstracted celebrity portraits which I translate into color squares, usually with a definite color palette in mind. I like to find new ways to interpret a traditional genre such as portraiture to make it fresh and interesting,” George commented.
Visitors to the Asheville Gallery of Art are able to view George’s show from November 1 through the 30, in downtown Asheville, NC.