William Slaton

People occasionally ask why I spend so much time drawing before I begin a painting. The honest answer is that I don't really know another way. Every painting I've ever created began long before the first brush touched a canvas. It began with looking. Then looking again. Then realizing I hadn't really seen it at all. When I was younger, I assumed drawing was about learning how to reproduce what was in front of me. A face A hand A figure An object Over time, I discovered something far more...

I've been thinking lately about how much of our lives are shaped by the stories we're given about ourselves. Some arrive as compliments. Others arrive as labels. The unfortunate thing is that children rarely know the difference. I grew up collecting labels: Dyslexia ADHD Dyspraxia A handful of others depending on who was doing the evaluation. At a time when many of these conditions were still poorly understood, the solutions were often imperfect. I spent portions of my education separated...

People often assume I paint faces because I enjoy painting people. The truth is a little more complicated. I've spent most of my life trying to understand why people become who they become. Painting simply became another way of asking the question. When I was young, drawing occupied an unreasonable amount of my attention. I drew on paper. I drew on school assignments. Occasionally, I drew on things that weren't intended to be drawn on. Much to my parents' frustration. Looking back, I think I...