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.

I’m asked to write something about a place and artistic activity that for me are beyond words. I’m a pusher of colorful mud not a wordsmith. I suppose that’s why some of us paint. Words don’t really cut it. Painting doesn’t really cut it either, but in my totally unbiased opinion, I think it comes pretty close. The ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus wrote, “The hidden harmony is better than the obvious.” In their creations, artists, poets, writers, and photographers of the Grand Canyon are all looking for the hidden harmony or truth that lies at the heart of it. However, the truth is far greater than we can perceive or interpret. It’s in the nature of things that our efforts to really understand the canyon fall short. But I think we move closer to understanding when we at least make the attempt. The Nature of Things is my latest attempt to understand. It’s from another mind-blowing evening spent at Yaki Point.

The Nature of Things | 36x36, oil