William Neukomm

Born in 1972 in St. Louis, Missouri, William began his figurative studies at the St. Louis Artists' Guild while still in high school. Encouragement from his first mentor, Lauren Davis, led him to the Kansas City Art Institute. While ultimately receiving his BFA in graphic design, drawing remained an important part of his work. A return to the St. Louis Artists' Guild brought William in contact with Billy O'Donnell and Jason Dowd, two artists who helped tremendously in the early development of his painting. Work soon took him to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he spent more than 10 years as an award-winning designer.

In 2010, William quit his job, uprooted his wife and children, and enrolled in the Florence Academy of Art, where he spent three years pursuing his interest in realist painting under the tutelage of great painters like Daniel Graves and Jordan Sokol. Peter Zokosky and F. Scott Hess helped William experiment with color and explore contemporary content while he completed his MFA at Laguna College of Art + Design. As an artist and instructor, William looks forward to a lifetime of development while teaching what he has learned to others interested in representational drawing and painting.

* This statement has been provided directly by the artist in association to their 15^th International ARC Salon entries. This content has not been edited for typos or grammatical errors and has not been vetted for accuracy.