Sid Willis is an artist of the Boston School. Trained by Robert Douglas Hunter, Mr. Willis delights his viewers with luminous still lifes and impressionistic landscapes. He has earned the reputation of being one of the finest painters in the United States. His paintings are cited for their strong design, beautiful color harmonies and consummate draftsmanship. While Mr. Willis’ still life reflects his solid academic values, they also incorporate his keen impressionistic observations to form unusual and interesting compositions. His subjects, often rare and distinctive antiques and textiles, are carefully chosen from throughout his native New England countryside. Willis’ still lifes exhibit at a unique elegance of design and achieve a closeness of color unsurpassed by any other artist today. An American Impressionist, Mr. Willis spends much of his time painting out of doors, directly from nature. The New England countryside provides Willis with a never ending supply of subjects for his landscapes. Though best known for still life, Willis has also won gold medals for landscapes and portrait, and has been honored for paintings in oil pastel, and acrylic.
In his own words:
“I guess I paint because I can’t write. Trained in the Boston School tradition I was inspired by their gallant attempt to combine the vision of Vermeer with the fresh look of Monet. Their approach to impressionism included “the big look”. View your subject as a visual whole. Paint only as much detail as you must to convey the total vision. Pay great attention to the lost and found plus check your edges. I have always tried to add my own personal touch to painting. I try to see as much detail as possible without losing the visual whole. Often mistaken for a tromp painter, I am a contemporary impressionist who paints in a tight manner. It’s not how I paint, or what I paint, it’s how I see what I paint. I work only from life with my on look. Subject matter doesn’t matter. Color is all. Ives Gammel described some painter “entranced with the visual world”. I wish it had been me.
— Sid
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