About William E. Defenbaugh Jr.
Artist William E. Defenbaugh Jr.
William "Bill" Defenbaugh lives and paints in Ely, MN. Bill has been an avid painter all his life. Prior to obtaining his Law degree and practicing law, Bill studied Art as part of his undergraduate studies at Wabash College. Subsequently, he took classes at the Lakeview Center for Arts and Sciences in Peoria, Illinois. He continued his art work while he was practicing law. During that period he exhibited in the Midwestern Wildlife and Western Art Show in Minneapolis. Upon moving to Ely, Minnesota he has participated annually in workshops at the Grand Marais Art Colony, in Grand Marais, Minnesota where he studied several years under George Morrison and Hazel Belvo.
He was on the board of the Grand Marais Art Colony, one of the founders of the Northern Lakes Arts Association in Ely Minnesota and is an active member of Ely Greenstone Public Arts. More recently, he was chosen to exhibit in the 1995 and the 2001 Arrowhead Biennial Art Exhibit in Duluth Minnesota. In 1996 through 2014 he participated in the Ely Voyageur Festival professional snow carving symposium, and from 1997 through 2010 has been a member of the United States team at the International Snow Carving Symposium at the Festival du Voyageur in Winnipeg, Manitoba in Canada. He is the Artist for the 21X34 foot mural in Ely as a tribute to the mining era "End of an Era." He also does commercial art for businesses and organizations. He has exhibited in the MacRostie Arts Center in Grand Rapids Minnesota, in the Boise Fort Gallery, the Burntside Gallery in Ely, MN and the Johnson Heritage Post in Grand Marais, MN
Artist’s Statement
The light and color of nature have always inspired him, especially the Northland wilderness of Northern Minnesota and more recently the Southwest of New Mexico. Both present an inspiration and a challenge to capture their essence and vitality in the contrast of light and the subtly of color. Both the American landscape painters and the French Impressionists provide a stimulating mixture of styles as a springboard for an attempt at a new approach to capturing a landscape.
The light of Monet, the pastels of Degas and the pointillism of Seurat have had a strong influence on my style and technic. Light, texture, color and the translucency of layers of pigment feel like the most important means of conveying the atmosphere of a scene, giving it a life and vitality beyond that of an illustration. "I sense an impression of light, color and animation which provide fertile ground for painterly expression". The world of nature offers more than the "pretty picture" or illustration. To capture that "something greater" is what I strive for in my art.