Bill has always been inspired by the human figure and the effect light has upon it. He has used various ways of portraying the body such as dance and also boxing but it is the body itself that interests him rather than the activities in particular. It is the physicality of the form and the beauty of the athletic figure that makes him wants to paint.
He usually has an idea of how he want the painting to look but in some pieces the original idea moves into something else and he leaves some of the older workings, the initial sketches and drawings as he loves to leave that “energy” visible.
He tries to convey emotionally charged work using light and shadow as well as rich and contrasting colour. He wants a level of realism but he also wants to escape from the confines it can impose and react to the paint and image in a more expressive way.
He uses a lot life drawing for reference but information and ideas come from all areas. Films, books and magazines are all utilized to reinforce the overall imagery in the painting. Klimt, Bacon, Schiele , Leonardo da Vinci, Caravaggio and Waterhouse are some of the artists that he has studied and that have had a great influence on his work.
