William Shepherd
Image Source: theautry.org
(b. 1943) William Shepherd is a realist painter from New Mexico. Shepherd is known primarily for his photo-realistic renderings of rocks and rivers, but he also paints still lifes of Native American artifacts such as pottery and blankets, many of which come from his own personal collection.
Shepherd received his B.A. in 1974 and his MFA in 1976, both from the University of Wyoming. Shepherd's work can be found in the permanent collections of the Butler Institute of Fine Art, Youngstown, Ohio; Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, St. Louis; Museum of Fine Arts, Santa Fe, N.M.; St. Louis Art Museum; The Olga Hirshhorn Collection, Washington, D.C.; and the University of Wyoming Art Museum, Laramie, Wyo.
Art on Campus
Watercourse Way
Year: 2013-2015
Medium: Oil on Masonite
Location:Reaud Administration Bldg, Event Center
Gift of Jerome M. Westheimer
Shepherd questioned how you stop a moment in time while simultaneously giving that arrested moment an impression of fluidity or action? On a painted surface, crystal clear, flowing water can appear almost abstract, but the presence of rocks or plants complete the illusion of moving water in a landscape setting. The title of this painting comes from a book by Alan Watts on Taoism, a fitting title since the Tao is considered the “Way” of life, a river, a natural flow.