William Silvers is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 painter

Painting

Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...

 and illustrator

Illustrator

An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...

, best known for his work in the field of wildlife art

Wildlife art

Wildlife art is one of humanity's earliest art forms, dating back to prehistoric cave paintings such as those found at the grotto of Lascaux in France....

.

Biography

Inspired by his father, who was also an artist

Artist

An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...

, William Silvers studied arts at the Bowling Green State University

Bowling Green State University

Bowling Green State University, often referred to as Bowling Green or BGSU, is a public, coeducational research university located in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The institution was granted a charter in 1910 by the State of Ohio as part of the Lowry Bill, which also established Kent State...

 and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts

Bachelor of Fine Arts

In the United States and Canada, the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, usually abbreviated BFA, is the standard undergraduate degree for students seeking a professional education in the visual or performing arts. In some countries such a degree is called a Bachelor of Creative Arts or BCA...

 at the age of 21. After working for advertising agencies

Advertising agency

An advertising agency or ad agency is a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients. An ad agency is independent from the client and provides an outside point of view to the effort of selling the client's products or services...

 and an illustration studio for several years, he co-founded the art studio Live Wire Studios, located in Clermont, Florida

Clermont, Florida

Clermont is a city in Lake County, Florida, United States, west of Orlando. The population was 13,100 in 2008. The city is essentially residential in character and its economy is centered in retail trade, lodging, and food and beverage establishments, which are tourism oriented. The historic...

, as Vice President and Creative Director in 1990. Six years later Silvers started to work for the Walt Disney Animation Studios and painted backgrounds for animated feature films such as Mulan

Mulan

Mulan is a 1998 American animated film directed by Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook, with story by Robert D. San Souci and screenplay by Rita Hsiao, Philip LaZebnik, Chris Sanders, Eugenia Bostwick-Singer, and Raymond Singer. It was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney...

 and Lilo & Stitch

Lilo & Stitch

This article is about the movie. For the television series, see Lilo & Stitch: The Series.Lilo & Stitch is a 2002 American animated feature produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released on June 21, 2002...

. After working for Industrial Light and Magic

Industrial Light and Magic

Industrial Light & Magic is an Academy Award-winning motion picture visual effects company that was founded in May 1975 by George Lucas and is owned by Lucasfilm. Lucas created the company when he discovered that the special effects department at 20th Century Fox was shut down after he was given...

 as matte painter

Matte painting

A matte painting is a painted representation of a landscape, set, or distant location that allows filmmakers to create the illusion of an environment that would otherwise be too expensive or impossible to build or visit. Historically, matte painters and film technicians have used various techniques...

 during 2004, he moved back to Florida and worked as Associate Art Director on the sports games of EA Tiburon

EA Tiburon

EA Tiburon is an Electronic Arts video game development studio located in Maitland, Florida, United States founded in 1994. It is located just north of the Orlando, Florida downtown area. It was formerly known as Tiburon Entertainment, which was acquired by EA in 1998.The studio is most well known...

. Silvers is currently living again in Clermont and concentrates on his work as wildlife artist.

Awards

In the 2001 Arts for the Parks competition of the National Park Academy of the Arts, Silvers won the Founder's Favorite award, which was endowed with a price money of $1,500, for his painting King of the Swamp showing the head of a swimming crocodile

Crocodile

A crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae . The term can also be used more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia: i.e...

. Four years later, in 2005, his painting Going Fishing was awarded with the Region I award (all entries east of the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

), which came with a price money of $3,000.

External links

• William Silvers (personal homepage)