Bio

William WrayWilliam Wray has lived in California most of his life and studied painting at the Art Students League in New York.

Making his living as a cartoonist who specialized in painted subjects, he spent many years coalescing a eclectic array of art styles, ultimately finding his voice in a contemporized reflection of traditional California regional painting that focus on humble subject matter rarely considered as fine art.

Wray blends traditional skill sets of realism and the sheer energy of abstract expressionism in an ongoing evolution to find the balance between two seemingly unrelated styles. Wray has challenged himself to create a brand of realistic expressionism he hopes to use a bridge into the customarily circumspect contemporary art world.

Awards

Placed: 2008 Ray Mar contest

Grand prize winner: Create Better Paintings

Finalist: Art Kudos International Art competition

Honorable Mention: LAPAPA Best of Plein Air 2008

Artist Choice Award: San Luis Obispo Plein Air Festival 2006

First place: Art Interview Magazine: Second Quarter 2005

Second place: 1st Annual 2005 Riverside Plein Air Paint-out

Memberships

Oil Painters of America

LAPAPA

California Art Club

March 2017 Pasadena Star News

William Wray painting in California Art Club’s “106th Annual Gold Medal Exhibition at LA Autry Museum of the American West”

July 2009 Issue of Southwest Art

July 2008 American Art Collector

The Artist Magazine March 2008