Artists_amp_amp_Illustrators__July_2016_

26 Artists & Illustrators

ART IN MOTION

The metal silhouettes

on Bill’s desk echo the

expressive figures in his

New York crowd paintings

Where is your studio based, and how long have you

been there?

We’ve been in Connecticut about two years, prior to

that we were living in Newport Rhode Island, and

before that, Manhattan, for about 20 years.

New York is a real muse for you, when did you first

discover it as an artist?

I think it was probably in the 1970s when it was a lot

rougher. I enjoyed that edge that it had, as it

progressed over the years it has become a different

place. It’s changed a lot. The nature of Manhattan is

that it’s always changing; a lot of places I’ve painted

don’t exist anymore. Whatever its moral face, it has an

energy. I suspect that’s the thing that always excites

me about it, its ebb and flow of energy. I am

probably a closet abstractionist, so I am

always painting its pulse.

The musician, Sting, wrote the foreword for

your new book, how did you first meet?

In the early 1980s. I guess our connection

was being Englishmen in New York, so we’ll

be doing an ‘in conversation’ here in New

York in June. He has been supportive; and is

supportive in many things he does, if you read

about him. He became interested in my work and

came to my studio in London.

Why do you like painting faceless figures in crowds?

If I paint crowds, as I have been, the emphasis is on

that closet abstractionist that lurks inside me... It’s

about the movement, the form and the mass of the

crowds. The truth of the matter is, I go through periods

of interest, and then shift my emphasis.

There are some periods where they are much more

figurative, and where I particularise the faces. But

something like [my painting] Audience, which came

about from me following Sting around while he was

going to different gigs, I ended up drawing and

painting the crowds, because it was this flowing,

screaming, manic group. I didn’t want to freeze the

figures. It’s more to do with the intention.

BILL

IN THE STUDIO

AS HE PREPARES FOR A SOLO

EXHIBITION, THE BRITISH PAINTER

EXPLAINS HOW NEW YORK BECAME

HIS FAITHFUL MUSE. WORDS: KATIE

MCCABE PHOTOS: CHRIS CRAYMER

JACKLIN RA

26 In the Studio.indd 26 12/05/2016 10:34