Throughout his painting career, William Matthews has maintained a tradition of respect for working people. Early on, he focused on the working cowboys from the great ranches throughout the West, later turning to other cultures and people from China to the rural Amish, working their lands. Most recently, he’s turned his attention to the steel mills of Ohio and Pennsylvania.
This rich and varied subject matter provides a fertile backdrop for the artist to display his approach to watercolor. In this series, he contrasts cold, flat planes of steel mill rooftops with interior compositions of red-hot cauldrons filled with molten steel along with dramatic portraits of workers emerging from plumes of fire, steam and smoke.
Thirty paintings from this series will be on view in the exhibition STEEL, on display at William Matthews Studio in Denver, Colorado, through February 6, 2020.
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