Galleries Visual Arts

Cover Artist: William Asman

Artist William Asman

Artist, William Asman

By Leah Shapiro

It is often said that life is what happens while you’re busy making plans. If you’re William Asman, however, trying to make plans in the first place isn’t really your style. You could say that William’s philosophy of laying back and seeing where life takes him has been applied to every aspect of his life, from his 34-year cooking career to how he approaches his art. “I just sort of fell into everything,” he says. If you caught a glimpse of William’s studio—his stacks of CDs, collection of armadillo figurines, and framed colored ink drawings—you might be able to guess that this journey has been nothing short of entertaining.

Born into an artistic family, William says he became interested in exploring two-dimensional pictorial space at a young age. “I’ve been drawing as long as I can remember.” His father, whom he was named after, graduated from Pratt Institute in New York City during the Great Depression. Since there were very few jobs in art at the time, he worked at a phone company and made art on the side. He worked in ink and used small dots to create patterns, a technique called stippling, which William also uses. Although he tried oils, watercolors, and other mediums in his youth, William found himself returning to the same medium as his father, but giving it his own touch.

William Asman

William Asman (Photo Leah Shapiro)

Whereas his dad was inspired by medieval iconography, William chooses to create other scenes in what he calls his “pictures.” He describes his work using a term he made up called “pictorial super-realism.” Elements drawn on the same plane are placed in front of and behind one another to create an illusion of three dimensions. He works exclusively with Strathmore acid-free illustration board and archival ink. Although he used to apply an overall ink wash to mute the colors, William says that lately he’s been allowing the bright colors to remain without the wash.

Contrary to most artistic techniques, William begins with shapes and then figures out the subject matter later. “I don’t know what it’s going to be when I start,” he says. “It can be anything.” He first decides the shape of the board, then he makes a pleasing composition of shapes with ink. “Then I find something that fits in the focal part. It might be something I’ve been thinking about or it might be just something that pops into my head. Then I build around it with things that relate. I follow the composition that I originally started out with.” The titles for each piece are usually straightforward with a humorous edge. The cover art on this issue of The Laurel, for instance, is titled “The Turtle and the Hair.”

Artist William Asman

Artist, William Asman

William once drew a shape that turned into a temple. While musing on what to put in the temple, a song came on the car radio that had the word “rooster” in it. But it wasn’t going to be your typical rooster. “I went to the library and looked up roosters and made my own rooster out of a combination of two or three different kinds of roosters.”

Born in Neptune, New Jersey, William grew up in the borough of Little Silver and lived there until seven years ago when he and his wife Lorraine moved to Weaverville. They loved the mountains and had visited several times together. He attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City and majored in advertising and design. “I didn’t want to earn a living with art,” he says. “I wanted to make pictures for myself.”

After college in 1964, William got a job unloading freight cars for Mattel Toys. He worked his way into accuracy control in the shipping department and realized he didn’t care much for the work. He switched to the restaurant industry and worked there for decades. After quitting his job as a prep cook in the early 2000s, he wanted to do anything that didn’t involve cooking. He saw an ad in the paper about a job repairing aluminum air cargo containers. When he was hired, he learned to weld and cut metal. Post September 11, he was laid off and began working in a hospital as a courier, which he did for a few years until he retired. Today, William devotes his time to creating his art under the business name Asmanhouse. Last May, he opened his home studio for the Weaverville Art Safari.

Artist William Asman

Artist, William Asman

Upbeat instrumental music played as I visited with William in his studio, so I asked him about his musical interests. He smiled. “I’m a Bob Dylan fan, number one.” Then he began listing off other genres, including jazz, blues, classical, bluegrass. “Depends on my mood. I listen to all kinds of music. I always have music on.” He tells me Bruce Springsteen frequented the coffee shop where he worked in the 1960s.

“I saw him play in the clubs. I knew he was good and he was about to come out with an album.” William recalls telling him, “Maybe I could design an album cover for you,” to which Bruce replied, “Well, bring some stuff around and we’ll check it out.” William laughs when he tells me, “And I never did. I should have.” He just shrugs and moves on.

Through September 5, a selection of William’s works is featured in The Gallery at Flat Rock’s show “All Creatures Great and Small.” To see more of his art, visit Miya Gallery, Maggie B’s Wine & Specialty Store, and Glass Onion in Weaverville. To learn more, visit asmanhouse.vpweb.com or call 828.645.5952. Visits to his studio are available by appointment.

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