Artists' Gallery Sunriver

My passion for art is a precious gift from God.

As a child I copied cartoons from comic books and I drew pictures of everything that interested me—airplanes, animals, birds, people and landscapes. 

I continued to draw all through my school years. After high school I enrolled in Oregon Technical Institute’s two‐year program combining commercial illustration and technical illustration. At age 20, I married and we headed for California where the aerospace industry was advertising for technical illustrators.

My first job was with Westinghouse Electric doing ink-­‐line drawings. A couple senior illustrators taught me how to airbrush and introduced me to oil painting. In my after‐work hours I began easel painting. Within two years I started selling in San Francisco Bay Area galleries—a very exciting and rewarding time in my art career.  

My next day job was drawing and painting for various aerospace and research companies. My ability as an easel painter continued to improve. By that time I was painting in oil, watercolor and acrylic, both at work and for the galleries.

My next day job took me to Lawrence Livermore Research Laboratory. I spent the next twenty­‐seven years as an airbrush artist, painter and art director. Throughout these years I continued easel painting in my home studio and selling through California galleries.

In 1993 our family of four moved back to Oregon. I have painted full time since then, showing in several Oregon galleries and continuing to show in California galleries. To sum it all up—what a gift! I am a grateful man.   

See more of Bill Hamilton’s art…