Artist Profile

William  Otton Profile Photo

William Otton

Novato, CA

Visual art has been an integral part of my life since my 7th grade teacher told me I had talent. A first for any teacher! I wanted to be an architect but I am more a "global" thinker than a "linear" thinker so math deferred me from reaching me goal...which was ok. I pursued an educational path that ended with a doctorate in art...an unusual degree but one that served me well. I directed three arts institutions after being an Associate Professor at what is now Texas A&M Corpus Christi. After a career in administration I retired to become a full time artist and currently live in the San Francisco Bay Area and continue my involvement with the arts as a studio artist and service on the board of the Marin Museum of Contemporary Art. I DO believe the visual arts can change lives for the better. Museums can be an entrance into how that can happen...or in my case was a teacher in a classroom who changed my outlook on life and led me to this place in time.

I started as a public school teacher in Paradise, California after graduation from college. Then restless, and newly married, I began teaching English as a Second Language in Micronesia. Upon completing my obligation there, I began a Masters in Art at Sacramento State where,my advisor, Joseph Raffael and Committee members, Jim Nutt, John Fitzgibbon and other teachers launched me on a professional career in fine art, without knowing what they were actually doing. It was an exciting time for the visual arts in the late 1960's and early 1970's!

I then pursued a doctoral degree in Illinois where I studied under midwest regionalist painters, Harold Gregor and Ken Holder, who taught me that my best contributions to fine art would be leadership in organizations that further fine art in any community I lived. They liked my art making but also liked the way I could communicate with others. That set me on a path to change communities by using fine art to enrich the lives of those around me.

The journey took me from Laguna Beach, CA,to Wichita, KS, Corpus Christi, TX, Sacramento, CA and finally Marin County where I have been able to return to my studio work. That journey is finally making more sense to me as I now make paintings I've actually handled but mostly refer to artists and sometimes, specific works, that have influenced my life. The works you see on this site are examples of what I am up to today.

It has been gratifying to find that occasionally someone will walk into my studio and "GET" what I am up to. The work can look casual and not particularly serious, but I assure you it it serious and based on everything I have learned as a university professor, art museum director and community volunteer. I've met some incredibly important artists (in my opinion) and some very influential leaders in the arts, but my greatest satisfaction is to the cross paths with an artist, young person, collector or another volunteer that has experienced how the visual arts can touch ones life. This, fortunately,, recently happened when a fourth grade class visited my studio, before the coronavirus lockdown, and conversed with me about how my art communicated with them and they wanted to do something that did the same thing. LOVED IT!

My Artwork

Essence of Truth: Edward Hopper

William Otton

Essence of Truth: Diebenkorn, Matisse and Picasso

William Otton

Essence of Truth: Matisse and Diebenkorn in the Gallery

William Otton

Essence of Hopper during a Pandemic: April 2020

William Otton

Essence of Truth: Sand Piles Along the River

William Otton

Untitled

William Otton

Essence of Truth: Gauguin in Tahiti

William Otton

Essence of Truth: Wyeth Extended

William Otton

Essence of Truth: Gauguin In Tahiti #1

William Otton

Matisse and Me

William Otton

Essence of Truth: Matisse and Picasso Sell at Auction

William Otton

Essence of Truth: Landscapes Join by Two of the Majors

William Otton

Essence of truth: A Day in the Country

William Otton