About Me
My sig is BHII, but I’m better known as Bill Horvath, and more formally as William L. Horvath II. I was born in 1970, and studied various forms of art at the Toledo Museum of Art in my youth. I was notably inspired by my mother, who was taking art classes herself at the time, and spent hours honing my skills. I became a professional artist in 2015, and presently pursue my creative endeavors at my studios at home and in Jerome, Michigan.
In addition to my current career as artist, I’ve also been a professional software developer, a management consultant to the U.S. Congress, and an entrepreneur in various businesses. When I’m not doing art, I enjoy spending time with my two children, listening to NPR, and working with my hands around the house.
About My Art
I love drawing freehand in pen and ink! It’s a significantly greater challenge than using erasable media or tools (such as a straightedge), and I greatly enjoy the ‘pop’ of the ink’s contrast against the paper.
I view every mistake is both a choice and an opportunity. When I draw something poorly, I generally choose to live with it, or I elect to draw something else that conforms to the shape and size of the mistake and its context. It turns out this practice has made me very happy by way of tickling my creative spirit.
I strive to continuously improve my practice, and to hone my skills through creation of art, classwork, and exposure to the work and stories of other artists. I’ve found there is always something new to learn that I’ll be both excited about and happy to share.
My work is typically gravity-agnostic: any side (or corner) can be placed in the down position, which allows the viewer to discover new perspectives and features in each piece as it’s turned. I’ve taken to framing my originals on a rotating base, so they can be easily spun while on the wall.
A couple of other things I’ve learned along the way that you might find useful if you’re an artist:
- Good quality paper and pens are worth the money, even for the starving artist. So are good quality, locally owned art supply stores.
- It’s very difficult to take decent pictures of small, two-dimensional art with hand-held cellphones, as they all come with a fisheye lens. The problem is due to the distortion caused by the lens when taking photos near enough to the art to pic up reasonable levels of detail, and it’s amply evident in the photos of my work. If you want high-quality pictures, build or buy a box to hold the phone and the subject at the correct angles.