Artist Statement

Honesty and confidence.  This is what I've come to discover is perhaps the most riveting and important factor in deciding a painting's greatness.   I have discovered that though mastering technical skill in painting is important, it is these two elements which help to forge the connection between an artist and his audience.  We may bring to light such works from Repin or Sargent, and though widely varying, they are successful as to their willingness to listen to their own intuitions.  There is not one way to paint, but a thousand ways.  If I have been true to myself, I will have been true to my audience.  However, it takes searching and a willingness to let go.   It is in the spontaneity of a brush stroke, the boldness of a color choice, and the freedom to paint from within to discover the artist's true voice. 

However,   I believe that contemporary art is lacking substance and often depth.  It seems rushed and generally uneducated.  It overlooks the value of academic painting in it's haste to produce artwork.   A good painting should require patience and skill.  It should not after all be easy.  It is my hope and vision that representational art will again be at the forefront of the contemporary art movement and secure it's place in history once more.

Great works of art comfort, challenge, or urge the viewer to think.  I believe an artist's role is to teach and to bring to light the essential facts in observation and thus the truth in all things. I want my work to depict the perfection of the human figure and the simple beauty that radiates from it.   I am determined to convey a sense of life and energy in my subjects and thus an intimacy in my models.  It is a journey of exploration of my environment and the human experience.  My work derives a sense of comfort and of warmth while employing elemental accents such as patterning and props.   I strive to offer a glimpse into the world as I see it.  I believe that through this approach I will have achieved a universal sensibility that can be translated across time and cultures and that when I have been most sincere to myself I will have found success.

-William Seccombe