Bill Greiner Watercolors
Bill Greiner: Watercolors
March 26 – April 25, 2025
Artist Reception & Talk: Saturday, April 5 @ 1:00pm
Artist Statement:
A painting is an illusion expressing the intangible, a feeling of an emotion, a fleeting vision of a thought. When you capture the essence, you’re capturing the magic, suspended within the artist’s mind shared with the viewer. It’s poetry in visual form. Art expresses what words cannot.
A painting begins long before the first brushstroke. It starts with the choice of subject and then the concept of the drawing. For me, it’s in terms of shapes, not the details or objects. My paintings utilize the mixing of colors on the surface [paper], not so much the palette to create a fresh variety of chroma within the overall composition. Letting the colors run through the shapes while wet creates a special kind of communication. Colors must be integrated together to form a unity that I call “mother color” [color harmony] and through this process objects begin to appear. My goal is to create something personal. Works of art should tell a heartfelt story, something personal communicated between the painter to the audience. One must be able to read the story that is being communicated. This cannot be taught, bought or shown, it must come from within our soul. I generally express my feelings in a painting to capture a mood, something personal I normally wouldn’t talk about.
My art is unique to me, it’s my vision that dwells deep inside our feelings. I strive to be honest, expressing thoughts to re-tell the story visually. Each work of art has a story to tell if, as an artist, I’m honest enough to share, knowing I’ll make mistakes which I can profit from in the future.
Throughout this exhibit, I use light and shadows through color to play across the images. Using the background as my stage, setting up the middle ground where the story is told, evolving to the foreground as the viewer begins to resonant with the feelings expressed. Remember that paintings are not real life but a vision from the artist.
Inspiration comes from my spirit, life’s experiences and I allow the details to come into focus as the work progresses. You could say the paintings evolve as they are created. I paint nothing so you can see everything. I’m not painting the objects, I’m painting what’s inside of me at the moment I am laying a brush to paper. I have always loved painting since a very young boy, there’s always an extension between my soul and the work. My prayer would be that you experience new feelings/emotions from these works of art. That they speak from my soul to yours.
Consider taking one home to enrich your life. God bless you!
Bio:
Bill taught at ONU for 36 years in watercolor and art history along with starting the graphics program in the early 90’s. He approached teaching with the concept that students are wanting to learn and develop professionally, readying themselves for a career in the visual art. He believes, “It’s a process that began as a ‘calling’ from God and a spiritual passion.”
He is a prolific artist, creating works of art that showcase his understanding of color, expression and composition while producing amazing watercolors of urban landscapes, portraits and rural scenes. He is excited about the spontaneity of watercolor as a medium. As you view his paintings you'll see the difference in his works of art from other watercolor artists. An accredited master at creating stunning images that capture the inner imagination.
Bill has been painting for more than 60 years. The last 53 years have been spent experimenting with the spontaneous effects of watercolor. Bill is most excited about the "Fire Palette" he created and has used for the last 42 years. Most recently his paintings have incorporated atmospheric affects, similar to the Impressionist painters.
Bill's work has been displayed regionally and nationally. His work is in over 450 public and private collections, including 5 national Art Institutes. His work is in collections in Russia, Japan, Africa, Spain and Germany to name a few. He is an ever-changing artist producing new works of art each month.
Bill is a published author. His third book; Awakening the Senses to Art and Music is an art history appreciation book published by Pearson Publishing. He was the technical editor for DaVinci for Dummies and several other art related books. His early art expressions are discussed in Marks of the Matrix published by N.E.W. in Normal, IL.
