William Rabon

I was born in Muskogee, OK but I was raised in Tulsa, OK where I now reside. After studying at the University of Tulsa with many great teachers, such as Alexandre Hogue, I began my painting career. For many years I painted from my imagination both landscapes and figures. After many years I began traveling to draw and paint the landscape. Western Oklahoma, the Texas panhandle and Eastern New Mexico became very fascinating areas for me. The Southwestern landscape astonished me with its variety, beauty and change of terrain. The plains became a great inspiration for my landscape series.

In 2000 I grew tired of landscapes and began painting abstracts. I had previously experimented with abstracts but had not been inspired to paint a series. After growing tired of the landscapes the abstracts began to intrigue me more and more. Soon the evolution of my abstract painting seemed to turn architectural with a new outlook on color. I have always approached abstract painting by an osmosis experience from being around new environments. I believe that much of the same thing happened to artists in the late 30”s, 40”s, and 50”s in New York City. The paintings of that era reflected their environment and reactions to the steel, stone, glass, light and movement of the city. This art was ever recreating itself from show windows on 5th avenue to the Bowery.

Today I move back and forth between abstracts and landscapes. Now I can see that by painting both, they strengthen each other. The two styles have helped me to evolve as a painter.