Bill Duncan - Artist Statement

A native of Hartford, Connecticut, I have lived most of my life in Cromwell. I am a self-taught artist who enjoys working in acrylic and mixed media.

When choosing subjects to paint, I gravitate to both the ordinary and the whimsical. I particularly love the beautiful flowing lines of nature when they come in contact with the straight and angular lines of man-made objects. I also believe that it is artistic inspiration that finds beauty where others do not see it. I am personally convinced that there is beauty in all things.

In this latest series of paintings, I have continued to follow my love of the strong juxtaposition between man and nature; in this case, the American barn and its surroundings. There are the barns of the western prairies, the southern peanut and cotton farms, the Connecticut tobacco fields, but the reigning king of them all is the New England barn.

Barns and their close cousins, the covered bridge, have no shortage of representation in the art world. My vision is to represent them from a different view. When Robin Williams asked his students in the movie, Dead Poets Society, why he was standing on top of his desk, he proclaimed that it was so he could see the world from a different point of view. This is how I approached these new pieces: strong, clean, simple and from a different point of view! I hope that you enjoy them!