Bill’s mission

Thirty years ago Alexander Art introduced the slogan, “Teaching the World to Paint”. But does that tell the story of Bill’s mission? Laurie and I pondered this question when we held our goal planning meeting in October. We wanted to make sure Alexander Art’s mission aligned with Bill’s. We decided that slogan did not define Bill’s life work either as an artist or as a teacher.

Master artist, master teacher

We know Bill was a master artist. His early paintings and those he did on commission show the power of his art. Bill was a master teacher as he proved on his PBS show “The Magic of Oil Painting.”

Bill did much more than paint in his hundreds of videos. He helped his fans build their confidence. “You are the greatest artist ever lived!”, Bill would say. He spent many precious minutes talking about his philosophy of life. He especially liked to talk about “creative power.” We have, Bill believed, a creative force within us. When released, that power can help us through any obstacle.

Hardship

Bill went through a lot of hardship in his life. He grew up in the aftermath of one World War and was, later, swept up into another. He sacrificed much to pursue his goal of becoming an artist and teacher including his home. This hardship shaped Bill into a remarkable human being and taught him what it takes to succeed. Bill overcame obstacles by believing in himself. He called on that inner power to sustain him in his darkest moments.

We’ve watched hundreds of hours of Bill’s videos. We’ve listened to the messages he shared with his fans. We realized that Bill’s mission was not to teach the world to paint. Bill’s mission was to help his fans call on that same inner power he used. Bill’s mission was to help his fans become more than artists.

A bit of light

We live in a troubled world. The newspapers overflow with reports of some terrible event happening somewhere in the world. (That’s why Bill often told his viewers to stop paying attention to the news.) We live in a time of fear and uncertainty. We think we are powerless to do anything about it. If you believe that, you are wrong.

With their art, artists have the ability to change peoples’ attitudes, their emotions and how they see the world. Beautiful works of art help folks take their minds off this troubled world and see it in a different way. Artists bring a bit of light into our world.

Bill’s mission was to help his fans become better than they ever believed they ever could be. The mission of Alexander Art is to continue Bill’s work; to enable our artists to change the world.