FORT WALTON BEACH — Richard Williams had two opportunities to attend college, but he turned down both to follow a less certain path that he created brush stroke by brush stroke.
Just like one of his watercolors, Williams’ journey from a teenager with a passion to an adult with a career started out as a sketch and developed into a full-blown painting.
“I had it so deeply in my soul I didn’t have to go to school,” the Fort Walton Beach resident said. “I couldn’t do what I wanted (through school), so I just stayed with (painting).”
He worked at a sign and display company for a while before his talent was discovered by the Air Force and he started a 22-year career as a civilian creating technical illustrations. He spent most of those years at Hurlburt Field.
When he wasn’t working, he’d paint and attend festivals or sidewalk sales to share and sell his works. Williams also studied under several artists including John Pike, Edgar A. Whitney and Edmond Fitzgerald.
Over the years he’s earned a number of accolades and the interest of several notable figures. He created a portrait of former President Jimmy Carter’s daughter that was placed in the White House Art Collection. Former President Bill Clinton has one of his seascapes.
After he retired, Williams sold his home in Okaloosa County and moved to South Florida to spend time painting on cruise ships.
“I’d paint it right there on deck, and when I finished it they’d auction it off right there on the ship,” he said.
Williams did that until the economy went south. The now 78-year-old recently returned to Fort Walton Beach and hopes to share his love of art through three-day workshops at a house converted into a studio in the Kenwood neighborhood of Fort Walton Beach.
“I always do one or two sketches because that’s my road map,” Williams said recently as he laid sketches beside completed paintings in his studio.
Watercolor, his favorite medium, is about blurred edges, lights and darks; not sharp lines.
“It’s about the essence of the object,” he said. “When you’re looking at trees, you don’t just look at one, you look at a forest.”
He has two more workshops planned this summer, one this week and another in late August.
Anyone can attend, but it’s definitely easier if they’ve picked up a paintbrush before, Williams said with smile.
“I don’t teach them to draw in here,” he said. “I teach them how to paint.”
CHECK IT OUT
Find out more about Richard Williams’ watercolor workshops July 25-27 and Aug. 22-24 by calling 374-0123 or 803-9306, or by visiting his website at http://richardewilliams.com.
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Katie Tammen at 850-315-4440 or ktammen@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @KatieTnwfdn.