Westlake Village Art Guild: Home

12/7/08

Bill Patterson
January 6, 2009 Demo Artist

Bill Patterson has always been about speed¼

Born in Wyoming, Bill moved to the Canadian Rockies where he quickly engaged his two passions¼art and downhill skiing¼and both at the age of three!

By eleven Bill’s artistic talent was more than evident, as was his talent for downhill racing. But his father’s career as a petroleum engineer dictated a move for the family and Bill found himself in a British boarding school in Argentina. He was quick to learn Spanish, sketched on everything in sight and participated in all kinds of sports, but nothing compared to the precision, speed or exhilaration he remembered from downhill racing¼until he was invited to go to his first auto race in Buenos Aires. Bill immediately recognized in auto racing, the same “edge” he knew from skiing. It was the “edge” of precision, calculated speed and technical limits with infinite exhilaration¼and he was hooked.

Today, Bill resides in Southern California, and if he’s not painting, he’s likely speeding down the side of a mountain on his bike or flying his model glider up to speeds of 200 mph. It has always been about speed, and there is no slowing him down!

For more news and to tour his virtual gallery, go to the Bill Patterson website (designed and executed solely by the artist) at www.billpattersonart.com.

Background and Training

After returning to the United States, graduating from Kansas State University as an architect, and working for several years, Bill made a life changing decision. He knew he was an artist first and an architect second. He began to paint and hasn’t stopped since.

Bill is currently the Official artist of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. He does an array of commissioned work for private and corporate clients such as Microsoft, Mercedes Benz, Delphi, and FedEx and performs live painting on stage, where his passion for motor sports explodes onto the canvas, creating original and unique works that vibrate with the sound and power of the racing machines and of the commitment and control of the drivers.

How Does He Do it?

Medium: Acrylic. Bill prefers Golden Acrylic paint.

Surface: Bill normally paints on large canvases. For the demo he used a relatively small 3 ft. by 3ft. canvas.

Technique: Fast. Bill conceives his paintings in his head before he approaches the canvas. Once he begins he just has "fun" and paints fast, wet into wet. The 3ft by 3ft canvas he worked on for the demo was completed in 30 minutes.