V1

Acrylic and welded steel on plywood

24"X 24" 2009

On display in Ballard

V1 is a technical term involving mass, inertia and kinetic energy. To the layman it could be translated, "should I stay or should I go"

Willie is no longer laboring in this technical area anymore and because of his advanced age he is now on Medicare. These types of decisions are now left to the " death panels"

The Overlords Arrive

Acrylic on canvas 20" X 20"

On loan to a private collector in Mt. Vernon WA

This painting is the first in the Arthur C Clarke trilogy. The Overlords are in the process of ensnaring another planet for the Overmind. Is it just me or are the Overlords going overboard for the Overmind?

I'll Take the Top Bunk

The Trinity 2005

Acrylic on hardboard with plumbing solder and fencing grommets.

24" X 24"

As you can see this is a remake of the famous 15th century painting by Masaccio. The Willie tried to capture this great artist fascination with classical architecture, geometrical composition, and projection of space by means of perspective in his version of this piece. Please note the red memento mori tomb in the foreground. This red form clearly resembles a carved stone bunk-bed that was used to display a person as they were before death on the top level and a rotting cadaver would of course be added on the lower level with worms and flesh eating wildlife included to dramatize the decay. Some of you are asking for a translation from the Latin of memento mori, it means "remember your death". The Willie is still on the top bunk but the younger folks are starting to look at him with a quizzical eye.

Life Lesson

The artist oldest son "the fish guy" and his bride visited southeast Asia and in one of the many hell holes they visited on that journey, they purchased a opium pipe and presented it to the Willie on their return. Of course he was thrilled with the gift until he discovered it was empty. None of the local shops in Ballard were able to refill the pipe so it sat empty for a couple of years. Then one day in a flash of inspiration that involved plywood, a twig. construction insulating foam and a eBay crow he knew what to do with the opium pipe. The result is what you see on this page. For may months it hung in the studio and then one day this little bird appeared on the piece. The Willie could quickly deduce from the coloration that this was a juvenile bird. He immediately saw a metaphor in the work, which is that for every adult responsibly smoking opium there is a small child showing up for kindergarten to stoned to properly stack his blocks.

This One is Freekin Me Out

Untitled Acrylic on Canvas 24" X 24"

This this work painted in 2007 was the cause of severe mental anguish. It all started by viewing the areas that are now gray. The gray was used to paint over some disturbing shapes in the original painting. The Willie thought at first these disturbing shapes were welling up from his subconscious but later concluded that these brush strokes were innocent blotches of color and his conscious mind was perverting them. The more he looked at the work more confused he became. Since he could not determine the source of his discomfort he determined that further work was necessary, he decided that he would have to pollock this piece. The rules in the studio, imposed on the Willie by the building manager state that, "All pollocking must be done in the garage with the car removed". Even with elaborate precautions in place, including the laying of newspaper on the floor, accidents do occur during the process. As you can see in the work some of the white and black paint go beyond the edge of the piece. It must be stated that the paint that hit the workbench is NOT part of this work and NO you may not come to the studio and view the splatters.

The Green Worms Survive

This shameless ripoff of Kandinsky's Circle and Square was painted by the Willie in 2008. It was his third attempt to paint this piece of hardboard (17" X 32") The first painting of the hardboard was primarily green the second mainly red , black and yellow. If one was to locate oneself on this piece using a grid system. going left to right, the first column would be A the second B and so on. Vertically it would be 1 in the lower left hand corner and then the numbers would get bigger as you ascend. Now let's look at C7 and C6 do you see those red stripes? Of course you do. They are from the second painting and I forgot what they meant. Now look at C3 and D3 this is what we are really here for. The Willie calls those green marks "green worms" and guess what? THEY SURVIVED! Yes that's right the green paint was from the original painting and we can learn a lesson from that. After trying anything three times, something is bound to survive. Three marriages? maybe you get the dog. Three jobs? you still have your unemployment. Stocks? you still have a third of it left don't you? The Willie is here to help. Now don't you feel better?

You Will Soon See Great Art

Stay tuned kiddies great art will soon be displayed on this page.