William Schneider
According to William Schneider, “The delight (and torment) of being an artist is that the journey never ends!
I view myself as a perpetual student.”
Over the past few years, Schneider
has found his work has become looser. “Whether painting figures or cityscapes I am more interested in the evocative than the literal,” he says. “A great influence has been the work of Nicolai Fechin. His broken edges and suggestive brushwork have certainly helped shape my own aesthetic vision.”
A second track for the artist has been the study of design. “A 2010 exhibition of J. W. Waterhouse at the Musée des Beaux Arts in Montreal started to open my eyes to just how crucial composition is,” Schneider explains. “After all, it’s not the tiny details that catch the viewer’s eye from across the room but rather the placement and relationship of large masses of value and color.”
Schneider does not travel the world for subjects to paint, but rather paints his figures in his studio or at the historic Chicago art club Palette & Chisel, which has open studio sessions seven days a week. “The gritty streets and plentiful rain here also offer an abundance of moody design possibilities,” he says. “Of course, all of the above is subject to change. Hopefully, as I learn and grow as an artist, new areas of interest will call out. There will be new mountains to climb. The journey never ends!”
Beginning November 1, Schneider’s paintings will be featured in a two-artist show at Reinert Fine Art in Charleston, South Carolina.