A painter's painter is probably the best way to describe Will Spear. His oil paintings are not always about the breathtaking vistas or the “pretty”, but more about the intimate relationship one has when interacting with their surroundings. It is more important to capture the sense of place, than being bogged down with unnecessary detail. Whenever he is painting, he sets about on a journey to capture the emotion and what he feels at a place at that moment in time. Will often states “ it can be technically well painted, but if it does not have emotion, if it does not convey the connection I felt for the subject, it's going to get scraped”.
One way Will has been able to capture this emotional bond is to paint directly from the source, or in “plein air”. There he finds the “truth” in nature. Although he majored in illustration at the University of the Arts, he quickly became frustrated with the demands of art directors and deadlines. The work lacked the personal connection he desired, and he decided he needed to make a change.
Though he was born and raised in the Philadelphia area, in 1998 Will and his wife packed up and moved to Bozeman, Montana (without ever even visiting first). And although painting would take a backseat to life, this is where his love for nature would really start to set its roots. This journey eventually brought Will to Fort Collins, Colorado where he lives with his wife and two cats.