On Painting:

My work divides into two subject areas—my passion for the natural landscape and my deep ambivalence about what the human presence brings to it.

A nature subject chooses me. As I look at a wooded area or a stream, I am caught by a tree’s unusual form or the way the brook spills around and between a cluster of stones. The parts of the whole grip me. Taken together they produce a vast scene, but their power lies in the details, which register in our minds first and then are assembled into a whole. I like to stay with the pieces because, for me, they hold nature’s secrets.

I expend most of my energy on these natural scenes because they sooth, energize, and enrich me. My other paintings come from my dismay and anger at witnessing abuse of our land that proves once again we are a species that seems unable to learn from experience. Pollute, loot, or destroy one area, and we move on to the next with a new set of rationalizations.

I hope these two sensibilities will both calm and agitate the viewer.

On Photography:

Since much of my work is for newspaper or magazine assignments, I approach each shot with two awarenesses: First, help tell the story as clearly as possible with each shot. Second, think of each photograph as a study for a painting, focusing on composition, values and texture.

The following are my attempts at reaching these goals.


Bill Regan