Bill Schmidt has been a professional landscape painter for 25 years after careers as a nuclear engineer, consultant, and president of a training firm. He developed his distinctive style of loose realism after being inspired by the French and American Impressionists and the Cape Ann (Mass.) marine painters such as Emile Gruppe. Working with a palette that enables him to paint bright, lively scenes as well as react to fog, overcast, and storms, he paints outdoors in all seasons at home and in his travels. (See photo of him working in Venice, left.) His paintings include marines from the Chesapeake Bay area, New England, the Gulf Coast, and Bermuda. Other works feature American towns and countrysides, National Parks, and images from Venice, Paris, Normandy, and Germany. He makes his home in Rockville, Md.
Gallery Representation
In the United States, Bill now is represented by six galleries at which he
has shown in numerous one-man and group shows. His works can currently be seen at the
following galleries:
McBride Gallery, Annapolis, Md., 410-267-7077
Gleedsville Art Gallery, Leesburg, Va., 703-771-8055
Carmen's Gallery, Solomons, Md., 410-326-2549
American Painting Gallery, Washington, DC, 202-244-3244
South Street Art Gallery, Easton, Md., 410-770-8350
Broadway Gallery, Fairfax, Va., 703-273-2388
Between November 1993 and April 1998 he was the featured artist at 18 shows throughout Japan under the sponsorship of Galerie Enatsu in Tokyo.
Professional Recognition
U.S. State Department ART In Embassies Program: Three of Bill's paintings selected by U.S Ambassador to Nicaragua Robert J. Callahan are currently on display at his official residence in Managua. The Ambassador and his wife commented that they chose Bill's works "because they are arresting in their subject matter, which is so quintessentially American, and exquisitely rendered." Other works have previously been selected for the official residence of the Ambassador to Cape Verde and the American Embassy in Sarajevo, Bosnia.
National and Regional Competitions and Shows. Two paintings (the maximum) were selected for this year's national juried competition of the American Impressionist Society. This is the fourth time and third consecutive show that has included a Bill Schmidt painting, including one that received an Honorable Mention Award. In 2008 one painting was accepted for the American Society of Marine Artists New England Regional Exhibition, and this year two were juried into "Land and Light '09" at the Bryan Memorial Gallery in Jeffersonville, Vermont. Bill's paintings have also been selected for numerous national juried shows sponsored by the Oil Painters of America, Paint the Parks and its predecessor Arts for the Parks, the Coos Marine Art Exhibition, and the International Marine Art Exhibition.
Collections. Giclees of seven of Bill's paintings were acquired by the Ginger Cove Retirement Community in Annapolis for display in its new Wellness Center. Eighteen of Bill's countryside paintings were earlier selected to be made into giclees to grace the walls of the Kaiser Permanent Medical Center in Ashburn, Virginia. Original oil paintings have also been acquired for the General Accounting Office, the Oliver T. Carr Company, the Melrose Hotel, and Franklin National Bank, among others.
Painting in Normandy. Bill was one of ten plein
air painters from across the United States invited to spend ten days in May 2004
painting at the Forbes-owned Chateau de Balleroy and the surrounding area in
Normandy, France. The trip was initiated by the Forbes Gallery in New York City,
where a group exhibit of the artists' paintings was held in fall 2005. (He also spent five days painting at famous locations in Paris, such as the Pont Neuf (shown), prior to going to Normandy.)
Special and Solo Exhibitions: Bill has participated in numerous group shows of the Washington Society of Landscape Painters at such prestigious venues as the Strathmore Mansion in Bethesda and the Athenaeum in Alexandria in addition to the following museum shows:
William Gilchrist Gallery, Cumberland, Md. Maryland landscapes and seascapes were exhibited in a solo show sponsored by the Cumberland Cultural Foundation in summer 2005.
Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum,
Wausau, Wis. Paintings exhibited in "Shadows and Light," a group show of
contemporary plein air painters in conjunction with the show of
Pennsylvania Impressionists (February to April 2004).
Washington County Museum of
Fine Arts, Hagerstown, Md. One-man show (1992).
Publications
Chesapeake Bay Magazine: Bill was the subject of a 6-page feature article in the November 2009 issue titled "Seeing the Light." The article was illustrated with six of his paintings of the Chesapeake Bay region. Other paintings have previously been chosen for cover illustrations.
Rosen Publishing Corporation: Bill was selected as the artist
to represent Maryland in the series of children's books focusing on how to draw
sites and symbols in all 50 states. A Kid's Guide To Drawing America includes his sketches and a reprint of his painting "Dockside
Annapolis."
Northlight Books: The book Art from the Parks includes
one of Bill's paintings among selections from ten years of Arts For The Parks
juried competitions.
Other Publications: Bill's comments on plein air painting as well as several of his images have appeared in Art Business News. In addition, articles by and about Bill and his techniques and plein air work have appeared in national and regional publications including American Artist, The Artist's Magazine,Art Business News, Art & Frame Review, Elan magazine, and Washington area newspapers.
Limited Edition Reproductions
Giclees: Giclees of scenes of Leesburg,
Va., Annapolis, Md., and the Chesapeake Bay region are being produced by Gleedsville Art and McBride Gallery. The countryside scenes selected by Kaiser Permanente are also available to the general public. (Please contact Bill
about other giclees planned or about commissioning a giclee of a specific
Schmidt painting. You can view giclees now available at
www.Gleedsville Art.com/billschmidt.asp or at www.mcbridegallery.com..
Fine art serigraphs: Reproductions of seven of Bill’s
paintings issued by Colville Publishing (now Fortune Fine Art) are available, as
well as a popularly priced poster of an Annapolis sailboat show also published
by Fortune.
Special University Scenes: A giclee titled "Hail, All Hail Cornell" (pictured left) and the lithograph "Our Fair Cornell" (sold out) were
published, with all proceeds benefiting the library at Cornell University,
Bill's alma mater. He has also produced an original oil for publication as a lithograph ("View of Blair Tower," right) to benefit the Class of 1987 Scholarship Fund at Princeton University in cooperation with his daughter and her husband, both alumni of this class. Please contact him for information about obtaining the Cornell giclee or the Princeton lithograph.
Memberships and Other Activities
Washington Society of Landscape Painters: Bill is a longtime member and
former president of this society that has promoted outdoor landscape painting since its
origins in 1913.
Salmagundi Club: Bill is an Artist Member of this prestigious center of American art located in New York City. It is one of the oldest art organizations in America and includes among its early roster of members William Merritt Chase, Childe Hassam, George Inness, N.C.
Wyeth, and other noted artists.
National Organizations: Oil Painters of America, American Impressionist Society, American Society of Marine Artists.
Workshops, Demonstrations, Critiques, Judging, and
Lectures: Art organizations throughout the greater Washington, DC
area, including Northern Virginia and Maryland's Eastern Shore, have enjoyed Bill's various presentations, some of which are also suitable for non-artists. Please contact Bill for a brochure of services available and their prices.
