Gilbert Williams is the world's most
renowned and revered Visionary painter. His canvases glow with
transcendent light and a remarkable panorama of archetypal images:
temples, groves, lakes and light beings, goddesses and nature spirits,
moons and magical mountains.
Gilbert Williams was born in Santa
Monica, California, on January 2, 1950. When he was five, his family moved
to Anaheim, California.
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Gilbert Williams
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As a child Williams was already
drawing avidly, and added to this natural artistic predisposition were the
three major artistic influences of his childhood. One of these was
Williams' father. Williams installed heating and air conditioning
systems in commercial buildings for a living, but was an avid and very
creative stonemason who graced every house he ever lived in with elaborate
stone and brick work.
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Another was his uncle, Bob Mattey, who
was head of Disney's special effects department. Mattey -- whose most
famous/infamous creation was the shark in Jaws -- took Williams to
Disneyland while it was still under construction, and Williams remembers
his uncle's backyard studio as "a wonderland of plaster molds, tools, and
movie props." And finally there was photographer Jack Howard. A friend of
his parents', Howard was an artistic photographer who taught Williams much
about composition and lighting -- and provided an invaluable example
that a person could make a living doing something creative.
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As Williams grew up, he
continued drawing -- and studying, almost entirely on his own. He
explored art history and the techniques of the Renaissance Masters
and engaged in peripheral studies that included anthropology,
archaeology and geology. He visited museums, not drawn to any
particular artist or school in these earlier days, but rather was
"mostly just fascinated by the haunting aura given off by the old
or ancient objects. I remember having fleeting memories of a
different way of thinking and feeling. " When he left high school he
entered Fullerton College, but realized after a year that he was
better off following his own Muse. |
Mist Angel
by Gilbert Williams
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Williams' career as a professional
painter began in earnest in Mt. Shasta, California, in late 1970s, when he
began selling paintings in local galleries. Major national magazines took
notice, and so did Hollywood. His images have been used for album covers
by Michael Jackson, by Crosby, Stills & Nash, and for the Fresh Aire
albums produced by Mannheim Steamroller & The London Symphony. They have
also been used as cover art and illustration by Omni Magazine. His
reputation spread rapidly, and in the early 1980s Williams became the
featured painter at the Illuminarium Gallery and Isis Rising. Now
Williams' originals are frequently sold to collectors within days of
completion. And Isis Rising publishes notecards, posters, matted art, art
books and lithographs of Williams' works.
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Gilbert Williams in his studio.
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Currently, Williams lives in
California, enjoying both work and family. "I am happily single after
surviving two marriages," he says. "My daughter, whom I raised as a single
parent, just turned 26 and is living in New York and studying acting. The
rest of my family lives here in California, and we get together
regularly." His says that his own "favorite artist" changes from time to
time. He continues studying art history, and enjoys finding an artist that
inspires him with new ideas. Just now that is William Waterhouse, one of
the late pre-Raphaelites. He is also as fascinated by science as ever.
"Science gives us a cosmic perspective and clue to our future evolution.
It also connects us to our true past through archaeology, one of my
biggest interests." |
Finally, as is obvious from everything about his painting, Williams has a
deep and ever-expanding interest in metaphysics, and a deep friendship
with Lazaris, with whom he creates the annual
Lazaris-Gilbert Williams Calendar.
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Please see the other sections on this
website for availability of Gilbert Williams notecards, posters, matted
art and lithographs of many of Williams’ paintings, as well as a
full-color, soft-cover book of his art called The Hidden Worlds: The
Visionary Art of Gilbert Williams, Volume II. His images also appear as
color cover art for The Lazaris Journals (blank writing books sprinkled
with quotes by Lazaris).
Further information is
available by calling the Isis Rising executive offices at 407/401-8990.
Also see FAQ
about Gilbert Williams.
