Curator’s Conversation with Bill Firestone

Bill Firestone, the painter behind the Collective Reason exhibition on view in the Bodzin Art Gallery until May 12 gives you permission to turn the music up and turn the pressure to be meticulous down and just paint so that “wonderful accidents happen!”

Bill’s paintings have been described as vibrant, elastic and energetic. His painterly style lends itself to his fondness for rural scenes but also to the beautiful rainy day street scenes of the big city bustle. 

Bill Firestone is one of 70 artists working at Workhouse Arts Center. Learn more about how and where this former illustrator, now full-time painter, finds his inspiration.

When did you start making art and what keeps you going?

I began drawing cartoons in the first grade. My classmates liked it, and I liked the attention.

In high school I did paintings of rural scenes. I have new techniques I want to try.  And different new scenes I want to paint, such as Paris and London.

I’m always looking to experiment more with mediums, like gouache and I hope to do more with photographic transfer drawing.

How did you gravitate to the medium and style you are working in?

I used to work in oils and I would get it all over me, my car, my clothes. I decided I could get a similar effect with fast-drying water-based paint. My style is usually the result of impatience, loud music and indecision. I don’t like to be tedious although I admire others who can.

You seem to enjoy and have mastered painting both the serenity of rural landscapes and the big energy of city life. Are there specific places you go to seek inspiration for these scenes?

I like to go to downtown DC on a really rainy day. Occasionally to New York City. And I have been to Paris and London where I got lots of inspiration. And I’m especially drawn to streams and creeks, I’m always stopping on bridges and roads to take photos. And sometimes a student gives me an interesting photo to work from, something that I wouldn’t have thought of to work on.

Do you have any advice to share with aspiring artists?

I think the most important thing is to keep at it. Paint a lot, try new things, take a class. I like to promote using a lot of water with acrylics, so that the paint is not so controlled and wonderful accidents happen. As my friend Lura says, “Painting is just covering up your mistakes.”