Bill Hudson (artist)

William "Bill" Hudson (born 23 December 1942) is an English artist. Hudson has produced and sold both paintings and drawings for six decades, in collaboration with three dealers in Norfolk—Isabelle Hurst, Cromer Gallery and PictureCraft Gallery. As of January 2012, he is represented by art dealer, Vernon Holt, in London.

Hudson was born in Norwich, Norfolk and began drawing at a very early age, selling his first drawing at the age of eight on the Norwich riverside. His Father had introduced the boy aged 6 to a close neighbour, an elderly Norwich artist known to all as Mr Smee, who taught Bill drawing with a pencil. He had two lessons a week for two years, Bill's Mother paying for the lessons with cooked dinners.

Hudson received formal tuition at the Norwich School of Art (1986–88) and the Winchester School of Art (1990), however, as he was already producing and selling work in Norfolk, and had been for 2 decades, this was seen as an extension to his hard gained experience. Nevertheless the Norwich School of Art in particular, proved advantageous to Hudson, for both the guidance and help of tutors, Chris Penny, Ian Welch, Frank Evans and Pete Kaye.

Hudson's work has been sold in both the UK and abroad (the United States (US) and Europe predominantly). His mentor during the 1980s was Isabelle Hurst, who Hudson remembers fondly due to her guiding thoughts and hand.

Burning project

On 19 April 2012, Hudson burnt 40 of his paintings from the 1970s and 1980s, a selection of work that consisted of landscapes, portraits and abstract pieces, with the aim of producing new work from the ashes. A small audience of press and collectors witnessed the burning, and, in one instance, helped Hudson burn his art. The next morning, Holt appeared on BBC Radio to discuss the event. Hudson intended to capture the timeline of the work, some 1000 years since its conception. This was the average total of years since the paintings were done, multiplied by the number of works. Hudson said on the night of the burning, "The ashes hold within them all the energy and time that I have put in to them. I want all of that to come out in the work I produce from this." On 11 June 2012, Hudson took delivery of the toughened glass that would hold these ashes, and filled it. The Installation was signed and titled on the lower front portion. Vernon Holt was witness to this and also observed Bill putting a thumb print on the inside top edge, and the top sealed. The name of this Installation is "I kicked a stone". It will be displayed for the first time to a selected audience on 13 July at an event hosted by Mercedes Benz in Weybridge, Surrey.

Immediacy

In 2010, Hudson and Holt entitled Hudson's abstract work, "Immediacy", referring to the manner in which Hudson draws and paints. Hudson draws with a live model and never draws froms photographs, as he focuses on movement, believing that nothing is static. Similarly, Hudson creates his abstract paintings with no prior idea of the final result. To further instill "immediacy" in the work, Hudson often puts his oil paint tubes behind his back, so he cannot know what the next colour will be on the canvas. Hudson regards himself as a Painter first, despite producing new drawings almost every day. These pencil or charcoal works are not related to the paintings; that is, they do not act as preparatory work. Hudson follows no other artist, constantly searching for a new way forward in painting. This does at times inspire criticism from some of the proponents of more traditional art.

Exhibitions

Hudson exhibited as part of a group show with the Horsham Gallery, for an exhibition in August 2010 at the Menier Gallery In Southwark, London. In April 2011 and January 2012, he contributed solo shows to the Lovat Barnes Gallery and, again, to the Menier Gallery.

He was awarded the Norwich Evening News Art Prize in 1987.