William Berra

        Santorini
William Berra • Oil                              First Out of the Water
William Berra • Oil   
                        Afternoon Mist Lake Como
William Berra • Oil   
                        Canyon de Chelly Shadows
William Berra • Oil   
                      Hilltop Villa
William Berra • Oil                                      Village Near Panzano
William Berra • Oil   
                          Poppy Field, Provence
William Berra • Oil                           The Crew at Work
William Berra • Oil   
                    At Villa D'Este
William Berra • Oil   
                          View from Ravello (II)
William Berra • Oil   
                          Midday, Pienza to Siena
William Berra • Oil   
                      View of Marina Piccola, Capri
William Berra • Oil   
                            St. Tropez
William Berra • Oil                            In The Light, Canyon de Chelly
William Berra • Oil   
                  West of San Gimignano, Near Certaldo
William Berra • Oil   
                  Tuscan Light
William Berra • Oil                              Caesar's Forum
William Berra • Oil   
                  Villa In France
William Berra • Oil                            Chapel Vitaleta, Val d'Orcia, Tuscany
William Berra • Oil   
                          Sunrise Bellagio
William Berra • Oil                          Fall in Tuscany
William Berra • Oil                              Santa Maria A Gradillo, Ravello
William Berra • Oil                     

William Berra

An ardent passion for the natural environment is what inspires William Berra to create his radiant compositions. Rather than recalling every painstaking detail of a specific scene, however, Berra prefers to express himself in a more dynamic, spontaneous way. The intent is not so much to “be true” to the landscape, according to Berra, but to express an emotion that illustrates his attitudes about life.

As a child growing up in York, Pennsylvania, William found that art was always a far more interesting pursuit than his school studies. “Art was the only thing I’d done my whole life, and I was good at it.” After attending York Academy while still in high school, Berra enrolled at the Maryland Institute in Baltimore, where he discovered the work of the Macchiaiolis. A primary influence on Berra’s personal philosophy of art, the Macchaiaolis were a little-known group of Italian painters from the mid-18th century. “They were concerned with leaving you with a feeling, not really giving you all the information. . . like the way the melody of a song leaves you with a feeling.” Similar to the Impressionists who worked around the same time, the Macchiaiolis preferred painting small works en plein air, using loose brushstrokes and depicting everyday scenes of the countryside around them. This kind of fresh, loose brushwork appealed to Berra, who saw no sense in “hiding his tracks,” as had many of the artists he studied in school. By retaining the freshness and vitality in his brushwork, Berra could literally let viewers see the artist’s “hand” (involvement) in the visual experience.

Although he does now admit that his formal art education was helpful, in 1973 William decided to quit the Maryland Institute. “I’m pretty much a self-taught artist,” he says. He traveled the country for some time, setting up various residences in Vermont, Oregon and San Francisco. When he headed to Taos to visit a friend in 1976, Bill immediately fell in love with the environment and never left again.

His unique style of painting proved to lend itself well to the surrounding Taos landscape. Taking another cue from the Macchiaiolis, Berra often paints on board that has been first prepared with an orange base. This contributes to the warm, “Southwestern” radiance of his paintings. As a plein air landscapist, Berra must move quickly to capture fleeting moments within the scenery around him: “You almost have to move as fast as the sun sets, and some people may not understand how quick that really can be.” Lately, however, Berra’s expansion into figurative art dictates that he increasingly work from photos and complete his paintings later in the studio.

Berra’s works are housed in public and private collections from around the world, including China, Spain, Mali, and Portugal. Such worldwide appeal comes as no surprise, however: With their quick, tactile brushwork, luminous color, and juxtapositions of light and shadow, Berra’s works don’t only communicate his vibrant way of seeing the world, they inspire us to see it in the same way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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