Page 42 - The Hunt - Summer 2023

before you categorize him and assume he’ll be that way. That openness is part of his self-branding, which may be why the same self-descriptive quotes tend to crop up in every story written about him over the past 20 years. Frankly, it sounds fun to be the kind of artist Willard is.
And just what sort of artist is he? His stock in trade is small watercolors. His impressionistic landscapes are mostly as dark as Andrew Wyeth’s naturalistic palette—moody, painted sketches he says are dashed off “just before I go
out the door.” Most have a similar style; some have a
similar look.
If you take a photo of one of Willard’s landscapes and upload it to a computer to view without the frame in the right light, you might say, “That painting really looks interesting. I can imagine that being ...” But if you think there should be more to it—that fine art should be labored over—then you don’t get Peter Willard.
40 THE HUNT MAGAZINE summer 2023