William (Bill) Mills 1923-1997
Abstract | Landscape | Still Life | Life Drawing
“He’s a veteran artist yet everything he does is youthful and fresh;a great lover of life whose ebullient humanitarianism directs the stroke of his brush, whether painting the figure, still-life or the hills of the welsh border, truly a painter to admire and cherish.”
Tim Hilton
His early work was bold and minimal, influenced by de Kooning and Rothko. He produced evocative semi-abstract pieces utilising his robust line in bold strokes often under-laid with layers of concentrated pigment. His pursuit of abstraction intensified throughout the 70’s to ever more geometric canvases focussing on structural line and depth of colour.
Working in Spain with Harry Thubron and a subsequent move to mid Wales in the late 80’s inspired a shift in his work to abstract expressionist landscape painting. The strong energetic work he produced from then until his death became increasingly fluid in line, the richness in texture and depth of colour a direct response to nature.
“Bill and I were students at Goldsmith’s together. He was a front-runner, the kind you have to measure yourself against and be jealous of. A brilliant draughtsman he could make the paint sing with an unerring combination of gusto and sensitivity, intelligence and sensuality. Over forty years on, informed and enriched by the intervening years of struggle, experiment and discovery, he’s reached a peak of achievement and is still evolving. He hasn’t had the recognition he deserves, but couldn’t that be said of several great artists?”
Albert Irvin OBE RA
OBITUARY Tony Birks |The Guardian Feb 13th 1997