About Bill
Baltimore City
Bill Schmidt was born in Trenton, New Jersey in 1947. He studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (BFA, 1969) and attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Skowhegan, Maine before moving to Baltimore in 1969. He received an MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art’s Hoffberger School of Painting in 1971.
He has received numerous grants and awards including the Bethesda Painting Award (2015), two Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Awards… more
He has received numerous grants and awards including the Bethesda Painting Award (2015), two Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Awards… more
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Drawings, 2009
Since January of 2009, I've worked exclusively on this group of mixed-media drawings. All but two were done on a very organic paper handmade in India from recycled rags. I am using various combinations of sumi ink, charcoal, chalk, pastels, graphite, gouache, and acrylic paint. The paper beautifully accommodates this range of materials and its earthy irregularity provides constant push-back to my natural inclination toward refinement and precision. The resulting images have a built-in tension as the result of this balance of control and unpredictability.
I begun each drawing with little or no idea where the process may take me. Initially there is no clear or defined destination; Iâ??m traveling at night and can only see as far ahead as the area illuminated by my headlights. I proceed, trusting that the journey will be a rewarding one - not without a surprise or two - and that it will take me to a new and interesting place. The challenge is to be inventive and open to all possibilities. As the drawing unfolds, an internal logic inevitably develops. I try to stay attuned to this â?? it is what guides me. Although I am working with a vocabulary that I have built through previous works, each drawing has the potential to expand this vocabulary. I let the drawing tell me what it needs.
Iâ??m interested in the referential possibilities of shape and form. I donâ??t want to limit the â??readingâ? of any work â?? I value the idea that any drawing can inspire multiple narratives. The "figures" in my work can be analogous to any number of entities in the external world. And their relationships to one another can suggest interactions between everything from cellular organisms to human beings.
I begun each drawing with little or no idea where the process may take me. Initially there is no clear or defined destination; Iâ??m traveling at night and can only see as far ahead as the area illuminated by my headlights. I proceed, trusting that the journey will be a rewarding one - not without a surprise or two - and that it will take me to a new and interesting place. The challenge is to be inventive and open to all possibilities. As the drawing unfolds, an internal logic inevitably develops. I try to stay attuned to this â?? it is what guides me. Although I am working with a vocabulary that I have built through previous works, each drawing has the potential to expand this vocabulary. I let the drawing tell me what it needs.
Iâ??m interested in the referential possibilities of shape and form. I donâ??t want to limit the â??readingâ? of any work â?? I value the idea that any drawing can inspire multiple narratives. The "figures" in my work can be analogous to any number of entities in the external world. And their relationships to one another can suggest interactions between everything from cellular organisms to human beings.
Paintings
Small Paintings in Gouache on Panel
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untitledGouache, ink, crayon on panel. 8" x 8"
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untitledGouache, ink on panel. 7" x 7"
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untitledGouache, ink on panel. 7" x 7"
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untitledGouache, ink on panel. 7" x 9"
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untitledGouache, ink, charcoal on panel. 10" x 7"
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untitledGouache, ink on panel. 8" x 8"
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untitledGouache, ink on panel. 9.5" x 7"
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untitledGouache, ink on panel. 12" x 10"
Paintings
Small Paintings in Gouache on Panel
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"Our Little Problem"Gouache, ink on paper mounted on panel. 12" x 9"
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untitledGouache, ink on panel. 12" x 9"
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"Not for Nothing"Gouache, ink, crayon on panel. 12" x 9"
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"All Shook Down"Gouache, ink, crayon on panel. 14" x 11"
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"There and Now"Gouache, ink, crayon on panel. 14" x 11"
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untitledGouache, ink, crayon on panel. 14" x 11"
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baker-3-14-x-11-2.jpgGouache, ink on panel. 14" x 11"
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"Delivery System"Gouache, ink, crayon on panel. 11" x 14"
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"Cross-Talk"Gouache, ink, crayon on panel. 12" x 16"
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untitledGouache, ink on panel. 12"x16"
Paintings
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untitledGouache, ink, crayon on panel. 12" x16"
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untitledGouache, ink, crayon on panel. 12" x12"
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"Darling's Reprieve"Gouache, ink, crayon on panel. 12" x12"
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Special SpotPigment Ink Photographic Print 16" x 24"
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untitled
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untitledGouache, ink, crayon on panel. 12" x 12"
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Nocturnal GerminationPigment Ink Photographic Print 24" x 36"
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Time to WalkPigment Ink Photographic Print 24" x 16"
Square Panel Paintings
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Hunted and GatheredGouache, ink on panel. 10" x 10'
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NestGouache, ink on panel. 10" x 10"
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Frau Frau Walking the Cow(detail) Charcoal and graphite on cut out paper, xerox cut outs, nails, graphite on tracing paper hanged with magnets on metal rings.
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Fair and SquareGouache, ink on panel. 10" x 10"
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The Concert2015, Acrylic on Wood Panel, 46 x 47 Inches
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On LatakiaGouache, ink on panel. 10" x 10"
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Frau Frau Walking the Cow(detail) Charcoal and graphite on cut out paper, xerox cut outs, nails, graphite on tracing paper hanged with magnets on metal rings.
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Rhymes With OrangeGouache, ink, crayon on panel. 14" x 14"
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Frau Frau Walking the CowCharcoal and graphite on cut out paper, xerox cut outs, nails, graphite on tracing paper hanged with magnets on metal rings.
Paintings
Gouache, ink on panel
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After BeforeGouache and Ink on Panel, 16 x 16
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After BeforeGouache, ink on panel. 16 x 16
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Cross PurposesGouache, ink on panel. 10" x 10"
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Across and DownGouache, ink on panel. 16" x 16"
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Its Own DeviceGouache, ink on panel. 10" x 10"
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Broken GroundGouache, ink on panel. 18" x 14"
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Down and OutGouache, ink on panel. 18" x 14"
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TiltGouache, ink on panel. 10" x 10"
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Suspended GrowthGouache, ink on panel. 16" x 16"
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All Shook Down #2Gouache, ink on panel. 20" x 16"
Paintings
Paintings in gouache and ink on panels.
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Happen/StanceGouache, ink on canvas over panel. 14 x 11
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Past PerfectedGouache, ink on panel. 10 x 10
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The Trick of DisasterGouache, ink on panel. 12 x 12
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Object LessonGouache, ink on canvas over panel. 14 x 11
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About to HappenGouache, ink on canvas over panel. 14 x 11
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untitledGouache, ink on canvas over panel. 14 x 11
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Cut and RunGouache, ink on panel. 11 x 14
Paintings
Paintings in gouache and ink on panel