New Artist Application

William A. Schneider says everything he paints essentially is the same, a study of light on a subject, a study of the effect of the subject on the viewer. What it really comes down to is emotion. He prefers to paint en plein air, alla prima, forgoing the use of a camera. He would rather load a brush and in a stroke or two, capture the gesture or body position of a subject. “Photos are so inaccurate. The values are off. The camera sees sharp edges whereas two eyes see fuzzier edges. There is no substitute for painting from life,” he says. He devotes about 50 hours a week to his art.

Schneider has been featured in numerous magazine articles and several books. His work has received awards in many exhibitions including those of Academic Artist, The Degas Pastel Society, Oil Painters of America, The Pastel Society of America, Pastel Society of the West Coast, Portrait Society of American, Fine Art Connoisseur and Salon International. He presently lives and teaches in Crystal Lake, Illinois.