BILL CRAMER

Prescott, Arizona

Bill Cramer is best known for his striking oil paintings of the American West. As a longtime rock climber, he spent much of his youth enjoying the more vertical aspects of the western landscape. After receiving his degree in fine arts from Cal State Long Beach, he moved to Arizona to be closer to the scenery he most enjoyed. He has won numerous awards for his work, including the Artists’ Choice Award at the 2020 Grand Canyon Celebration of Art and Best of Show at Prescott Plein Air (2020). “My goals are to keep exploring the Southwest’s wild places, search for new ideas, and express what I find exciting about landscapes and painting,” he says.

Nothing says “hope” like rain in the desert. Watching a summer thunderstorm deliver its precious cargo to the canyon can be an incredible sight. Most years during the Celebration of Art, the artists are privileged to see several of these storms. The rain and lightning that comes with them forces more prudent visitors indoors, while artists grab their paints and head for the rim. I personally look forward to them, so long as I’m not in their path! Many of us have lightning stories we could share.

When a storm rolls over the Grand Canyon, it adds a sense of drama that few other things can. You are no longer just someone looking at something but become a witness to the one of the important processes that helped make it all. Water is an agent of change. Besides deep time itself, it’s the main force creating the canyon. It gives life to everything living in it—from the rim to the river. As I write this, the West is enduring yet another drought. Maybe I’m trying to conjure up some rain by painting it! Symbolically, storms often serve as warnings, but the rain they bring can be seen as bringing new life, freedom, and rejuvenation. For so many reasons, we’re all looking for rain “On the Horizon!”

On the Horizon | 36x36, oil