William Oberst
I am a figurative oil painter working in the New Old Master style, adapting the method of layer-painting to contemporary subjects. It’s a flexible language that holds great promise.

You'll find works in other media here as well, particularly watercolor.

And there's a film. For some time I’ve puzzled over how figurative art works its magic. I put a few ideas into a 20-minute video—“The Painter’s Vision.” Watch it if you’re so inclined. Any feedback will be welcome.


Shown here: "Mill Boy" (detail), oil on linen, 28 x 46 in., 2013.

The painting is part of The Mill Children, a traveling multidisciplinary exhibition about child labor in early-twentieth-century textile mills. So far, the show has appeared at the Eclipse Mill Gallery in North Adams, MA, the Bennington Museum in Bennington, VT, and the Charles River Museum in Waltham, MA. Next opening at Cherry & Webb Gallery, 139 S. Main Street, Fall River, MA on May 13. Through Labor Day.