Bill Mapes

 

Bill Mapes was born in Philadelphia and spent most of his growing years along the sandy beaches of the Cape May, South Jersey area. He graduated from the Philadelphia College of Art (now the College of the Arts) in 1971 with a BFA in Illustration. Bill studied under Ben Eisenstat, Sidney Goodman, Edna Andrade, Jane Piper, Al Gold, Isa Barnett, and Steve Tarantel. 

 

During the 35 years Bill spent as a designer and illustrator in the Washington, DC area, he also taught a University of Maryland University College Adult Education course in Graphic Fundamentals for several years.  

 

Currently, Bill has returned to his love of oil painting and fine art.  A deep passion for history, particularly the mid-1860’s Civil War era, provides him with a unique perspective on historical painting and portraiture. An avid outdoorsman, Bill paints the landscapes of Maryland throughout the year. Working in graphite mediums, particularly charcoal and pencil, he specializes in figurative drawing and composition.

 

Bill is a member of the Maryland Society of Portrait Painters, Gaithersburg Fine Art Association, is a past two-term President of the Art League of Germantown and is currently an instructor of oil painting for the Rossmorr Art Guild.  

 

Bill has exhibited at VisArts in Rockville, Glenview Mansion Gallery, the Carroll County Arts Council as part of the five-artist group, “Montgomery Portrait Artists,” the Gaithersburg Fine Artist Association’s group show at the State House in Annapolis, group exhibits at the Arts Barn/Kentlands Mansion in Gaithersburg and the Maryland Society of Portrait Painters juried exhibit “A Moment Expressed” at the Maryland Hall for the Arts in Annapolis.

 

Bill’s portrait of “Clara Barton” is part of the permanent collection at the Clara Barton Historical Site, Glen Echo, Maryland and  his commissioned portrait of Gaithersburg City Councilman Julius J. Persensky now hangs in the Wells-Robinson House in Gaithersburg.

In Bill's Words:

 

I have always been drawn to art as if it was an inherent part of me. It gives me pleasure, satisfaction, and a freedom of expression and statement.

 

Recently returning to painting after a thirty-year career as a professional graphic designer, I sought out the subject that most intrigued and interested me: portraiture.  

 

Everyone is unique. Beyond representing a person’s likeness on canvas, my ultimate objective is to find and portray their driving force. I want to convey the innermost essence, the individuality, and the spirit of every subject I paint. The end goal is that every viewer of my work sees the person beyond the image on the canvas.

 

I am mainly influenced by the portrait artists and illustrators that lived around the turn of the 19th century.  John Singer Sargent, Joaquin Sorolla, Anders Zorn, James McNeill Whistler, William Merritt Chase, Howard Pyle and N.C. Wyeth are some of my greatest sources of inspiration. Their art continually serves as encouragement for excellence and growth in my work.  

 

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