He believes ‘the artist should paint what one feels about the subject rather than what is seen.’
William was born in Yorkshire in 1933. He followed in his father’s footsteps and for a period worked in Coal Mining. He also worked in the Engineering and Insurance industries, but a love of contemporary painting was always a recurring theme to his career. He has now been painting professionally for many years and is recognised as one of the leading British ‘colourists’. For his still life art works William Selby positions everyday objects in carefully crafted suspended space producing balance and sustainable interest. Selby’s landscape paintings are full of atmosphere with patchwork fields arranged into a vivid abstract design. The landscapes are typically inspired by his native Yorkshire for which he retains a passionate interest.
He has exhibited at the principal Academies, Institutes and Societies of Arts, where he has won many major art awards and fellowships.