William Vanscoy
Oil Paint on Gelatin Silver

Bridge of Sighs

William Vanscoy's personal vision is revealed through a unique marriage of technology, alchemy and art. A native of California and a graduate of Brooks Institute of Photography, he has spent the last thirty years as a successful commercial and scenic photographer. Now combining the ethereal qualities of translucent oil pigments with the reality of large format black and white images, he reveals an intrinsic vision of both the natural and man made landscapes.

Oil Paint on Gelatin Silver

Oil Paint on Gelatin Silver is a mixed media process that is as simple as it sounds. The surface of black and white photographic paper is coated with silver bromide and silver halide particles suspended in a gelatin solution. Applying oil paint to its surface is a technique almost as old as photography itself.

My art is a rewarding combination of working with both the cerebral art of photography and the tactile process of painting.

In the beginning I work as a photographer using photography's technical process to make an original image. In a visual search I encounter a range of emotions and attempt to capture those feelings with the quiet click of a shutter.

Capturing and selecting an image is the beginning of the process. After completing the print I apply translucent oil paints directly to the surface of each one in an attempt to further convey my feelings and emotions from the original scene.

This process leads to expression through imagination, and though I am seldom loyal to the literal interpretation, my renderings are not a dramatic departure from reality. They simply reflect the soft ethereal pleasure I find in nature.

The tools for conveying ideas through art are secondary. What is important to me is transmitting my feelings to you the viewer in the hope of touching an emotion and evoking a response .

Every artist, even if he doesn't admit it, has an ideal that inspires him. Often, they are not the masters' most famous works, but they have a unique feature: in a special moment of human and artistic growth, they have left a profound sign, a mark of talent, innocence, imagination, and courage, maybe unreachable, maybe.

The image Tenaya Creek made by Ansel Adams had the same striking effect on me that Van Gogh's look in his self-portrait or a Chopin's sonata has in others. To be able to express, with just one photograph, a choice of life, a clear but curious vision so acquainted with the world, the sense of adventure and the deep respect for nature: a masterpiece.

In photography there's a precise instant called the "decisive moment" which transforms the photographer's vision into a divisible experience, a visual message. It's a moment of true concentration, almost like apnea. The finger presses gently on the shutter release, the exposure begins, sometimes shorter, sometimes longer, even minutes if the light is dim. Now, all the energy is concentrated on the tip of the finger, because the eyes have made their choice, Click. My passion lives for the anticipation and surprise.