William Thompson  

Oil on Canvas

Biography    

William's passion for art kindled at an early age when he first looked at his father's sketchbook and felt the desire to draw. Sitting down with pencil, paper and random objects as still life, William was instructed to keep drawing and practicing. With the exception of two art courses, William is self-taught and progressed from pencil drawings to oil and acrylic paints, which are the media he uses today.

William enjoys bringing the various techniques he has learned to his work in surrealism and aviation. A longtime lover of airplanes, his technical skill in depicting aircraft has been commended for its accuracy by those in the aviation field. William's own fondness for these machines brings out a character and grace that all viewers can appreciate. His surrealist work also makes use of his technical ability, sometimes in the form of optical illusion or, more frequently, in classical figures and structure. However, it also allows him to explore more provocative themes such as alienation, relationships and the nature of existence.

As a member of the United States Army and Army National Guard for over twenty years, William has been deployed on a number of occasions and is a veteran of Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Five months after returning from Iraq, he was deployed to Louisiana following Hurricane Katrina. His experiences with the National Guard have greatly effected his outlook on life and his art, which has continued to evolve since his return from Iraq in 2005. Future plans for his artwork include a series related to his Iraq experience and improving his airbrushing technique.