McColl Center for Art + Innovation

McColl Center Studio Application
 

Why are you interested in renting a studio at the McColl Center vs. another studio?

I am an artist deeply committed to my creative practice, and have reached a stage in my career that requires a deeper level of experimentation, challenge, collaboration with other creatives in an inter-disciplinary environment, and broader, more meaningful engagement with the public and arts professionals. As a long-time arts educator who adores teaching, especially to those who are underserved in the arts, I understand deeply the intrinsic value of environments that foster critical discourse, education, and knowledge-building practices, and I feel it is now my time to again become a student in my own education and skill-building. The opportunity that the McColl Center offers for collaboration with other artists and colleagues who can help me stretch and grow is critical. I am also a former resident of the Hungarian Multicultural Center in Budapest, and that powerful experience early in my artistic career served as an important navigator for many years after. I have a strong desire to experience that again in my resident city, so that I can deepen my practice in a meaningful way, and subsequently provide meaningful creative experiences for my community. The McColl Center’s reputation for excellence can undoubtedly provide me access to the resources to become a better artist, innovator, and creative contributor.



What do I hope to accomplish with a McColl Studio?

I have established two primary goals should I become a studio tenant at the McColl Center. The first goal is to become a more multi-faceted, dynamic artist through experimenting with my current practice, using a series called Trees that is in its beginning phases. By testing this series and changing scale, adding 3-dimensional, text, or environmental elements, or incorporating movement/performance into the series, each individual work becomes more impactful and engaging. This is also particularly important for me to enhance and become more experienced in techniques and mediums I have not traditionally incorporated.

My second goal is to use the studio, and the visibility it affords, to spark awareness, dialogue, and action around climate change, using my Trees series as a catalyst. The McColl Center provides a place for artists to respond to any number of critical issues our society faces, and a studio of my own would allow me to build upon that platform to diffuse the messages of climate awareness and activism in our community. My Trees series allows me to express my passion and appreciation for the role trees play in our natural spaces, health, and community prosperity.

Artist Statement for 2021!

 

Artist Statement

I am an artist whose work is rooted in a love for the natural environment, and our intimate but often unconscious relationship with it. My ongoing observation and time amidst both urban and natural landscapes allows me to center my practice on honoring and protecting the world, while simultaneously paying homage to the beauty it provides. Growing up immersed in a seascape menagerie full of natural curiosities, my work stems from personal questions and ongoing studies of how nature can serve our needs, and conversely, how we must also meet the needs of the natural environment.

My particular fascination with trees lies in my belief that trees are not proverbial abstract things but individual, living beings with personalities and stories to tell. Bringing those stories into a daily consciousness is at the heart of my creative process. By centering on the interaction between the texture of the bark, the natural design of the limbs and the depiction of scars left by time and weather, I am able to achieve an asymmetrical balance that stimulates our minds and invites us to develop a more personal relationship with trees—leading to greater understanding of their importance in the ecosystem and the spiritual place they hold in the world.

Biography updated for 2021!

Biography

Wil Bosbyshell received a BFA (as a member of the ROTC) and MBA from the University of Georgia, and spent six years as an officer in the US Army following his undergraduate education. After a successful business career in the private sector, Bosbyshell was awarded a residency at the Hungarian Multicultural Center in Budapest, which set the course for his artistic career. He has held a studio at the Charlotte Art League for 23 years, and has been an arts professor for close to two decades at both the former Art Institute of Charlotte and Rowan Community College. His work has been shown in numerous gallery and community exhibitions, both solo and collective, including Shain Gallery, Central Piedmont Community College, and Elder Gallery, where his participation in the 2018 group exhibition Weight received critical acclaim from the New York Times. Bosbyshell and his work also had a feature in the prestigious Watercolor Magazine, and he has been highlighted in numerous other publications both locally and regionally. His work can be found in dozens of private and corporate collections locally and nationally. Bosbyshell is dedicated to community service, with a particular focus on youth, and has served on various boards and leadership positions, including for Scouts and a Group Living Housing Corporation at the University of Georgia. He resides in Charlotte, North Carolina.

 

Dry Brush & Ink Wash Demonstration

This watercolor dry brush demonstration is my most watched video at over 135,000 views. Fun! 

Charlotte Mono-prints - a New Set of Ten in progress

 

Returning to my continued observation of Charlotte through mon-prints. I am doing a set of 10. Here are the 1st three. The one above is from NODA looking south to uptown. The moon was actually in the sky that night. The monoprints have layers of watercolor paint and colored pencil on top. I work really fast when I am dong these.  

This is in South End at Flower Child restaurant, formerly Phat Burrito, looking north to uptown Charlotte. 

This is at Atherton Mill during a light up the Rail Trail show. 

Urban Landscape Monoprints

I use a monoprinting technique to experiment with color in these urban landscape sketches. I have done 100s of these over the years. I start with a xerox transfer monoprint, then I layer watercolor, graphite and colored pencil over the top. I try to work very quickly and without analyzing my decisions too closely! 

 

Weight Series: The Figure as Metaphor

Society puts tremendous pressure on its citizens. The pressure to succeed weighs on the public and individuals. There is great pressure to consume as well; we are all pressured by market forces, peer pressure, family obligations, and demanding jobs. Instructors for example, are pressured to be subject experts, industry leaders, class room disciplinarians, administrators and entertainers. If societal pressures are not enough, we also pressure ourselves to advance in our careers in addition to being perfect children, parents, spouses, friends, etc. In other words, we pressure ourselves to “have it all.”

In the midst of this weight, it is important for art and artistic concepts to maintain a place in society at the conscious as well as subconscious levels.  How can art to address the pressure in our lives? How do these demands on me and those around me become art? Does art add to or alleviate the pressure? What metaphor can be used to show the weight on people in society? Who in society carries the most and least weight?   

In this series of drawings, I will explore the figure and its role in the context of today’s pressure-cooker society. Through a series of drawings, I will attempt to address the above questions, reflecting on our society. The series, called “weight,” uses the figure as metaphor to explore the weight that society places on us. The series will be a metaphor for our lives.  

I have drawn and painted the figure throughout my career. However, I have never undertaken drawings of this size and scale. Large scale drawings will hopefully have greater impact on the viewer, but are much harder to execute successfully than small drawings.  

 

Urban Landscape Charlotte

For a landlocked city, Charlotte has fantastic colorful sunsets. I painted night urban landscapes for over a decade in Charlotte's South End historic district. Watercolor on paper. 

The Arlington Building casts the pink shadow seen above. Oil on canvas. 

Price's Chicken Coop in the rain. Watercolor on paper. 

Price's Chicken Coop at dusk. Oil on canvas. 

The trolley at dawn with a moon rise. Watercolor on paper. 

 

Urban Landscape Hungary

During a summer in Hungary I painted over 100 paintings. I was productive because I had a studio in Wine Growers Vocational High School as part of a residency through the Hungarian Multi-cultural Center. Above is the Cain Bridge that crosses the Danube River. 

The dirt in Hungary is white chalk clay, so the colors are very vibrant. Here is St. Stephen's Cathedral rsing up from the other buildings in Budapest. 

The Green door above is the barn of a vineyard. 

In 1998 many walls in Budapest still showed the scars of fighting from WWII and the cold war. 

 

Urban Landscape Middle East

I used images from the middle east taken by friends to explore the wonderful architecture and archaeology. The mosaic tiles in Moroccan Sunshine above were a wonderful find. The strong contrast of light and shadow make this painting so dynamic. 

The Alhambra in Spain. 

 

Petroglyph Series of Primitive Watercolor paintings

 

My Fire Series led me to explore petroglyphs from the American West. I used actual images of cave petroglyphs, but changed the arrangement of them and experimented with the color. Above a the painting titled, The Story of he Family. 

I was fascinated by the shapes like the "eye" or hurricane shape. The abstract figures are amazing and fun. 

These paintings are done using a lot of masking and layers. 

The above painting, The Story of Life is very close to the actual colors of the petroglyphs. 

Watercolor Magazine Article

American Artist Magazine published a ten page article describing my watercolor techniques to create my fire paintings. 

 

Abstraction by Fire

I had been painting for a while in watercolor when I saw Andrew Wyeth's exhibition that included his fire paintings. He used masking and throwing the paint in such a wonderful way I was inspired to do some fire paintings of my own. My fire series caused me to experiment with abstraction and masking techniques. 

These paintings have over 30 layers of paint. Each layer covers the previous layer. The paint is splattered onto the paper for each layer. 

The Cave Fire painting combines my fire series with petroglyphs from the American West.