Art Gallery Prudencia

Jeff Williams

Jeff Williams is a retired professor of architecture from Oklahoma. A distinguished career in architecture, which included winning numerous major design competitions, provided the travel experiences with diverse cultures that prompted him to develop exceptional drawing skills. A subsequent teaching career found him leading student groups on summer sketching excursions to Europe.

In 2017 he retired from teaching to pursue two of his passions, watercolor painting and travel. Inspired and encouraged by workshop leaders Tony Van Hasselt, Thomas Schaller and most notably Joseph Zbukvic, Williams is currently creating paintings both in studio and "en plein air."

He has rapidly become a familiar face on the "plein air circuit" and at numerous competitions and exihibitions into which his paintings have been juried. He has won numerous awards at these events- including a third place in the prestigious Plein Air Easton (2021), the Outstanding Watercolor at the international Boldbrush Competition (2020), and a Mini-Pearl award at En Plein Air Texas (2020). But it is probably best to let Jeff tell you more about himself and his inspirations:

"As long as I can remember I have loved the outdoors, whether it was exploring the wooded area behind my grandparents' home, backpacking throughout my youth, stuffing my 6’7” frame into a Hyundai to travel the western United States, or meandering the backroads of Oklahoma.

"More recently my relationship with nature has been through that of a painter's lens as I explore places, mood and atmosphere that speak to me. As a result of these experiences my watercolors have varied from urban scenes to construction sites to industrial areas to natural landscapes, both near and far, almost always en plein air.

"Initially drawn to watercolor via architecture (exploring the work on my grandfather’s drawing board as a child as well as being exposed to inspiring renderings and historic documents throughout my professional career), I find the unpredictable and beautiful dispersion of color in water fascinating and the challenge to represent my observations with this medium invigorating. My hope is that by doing so I may help others find beauty in the world around us.

"Over the past few years I have been actively pursuing my passion for watercolor, in the process developing a wonderful circle of like-minded people who have inspired and encouraged me. I sincerely hope that I may continue to be inspired by these persons and others as yet unmet as I improve along my path of being the best watercolor painter that I can be!"

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