A Certain Place and Time The Art of Arkansas' William McNamara

Jay Harrod
Arkansas Tourism

Like the man himself, the first glimpse of William McNamara's art can be deceptively simple. A quick look at most of his paintings reveals unpretentious scenes common to Arkansas' Ozark Mountains -- flowers and dogwoods in bloom, panoramic vistas of vivid fall foliage, and peaceful creeks and waterfalls. But closer examination of these watercolors exposes complexities that reward the assiduous observer.

Beyond glances are layers evident in both detail and perception. One painting reveals lichen, moss and cracks on rocks. Shadows of trees appear on the still water of a creek that also reflects the sky's penetrating light. Further layers reveal, on the bed of the same creek, shadows of floating, fallen leaves and dark voids created by overhanging rocks and foliage. The layers of reflection and detail, and the light contrasted with dark, almost eerie shadows, transform a seemingly simple frame of a serene Ozark stream into work of abstract art.

In another painting, distance creates varying perceptions. From several feet away, an autumn scene depicting a forested valley could easily pass as a photograph. Inspection from inches away, where individual brush strokes are clear, reveals an entirely different work -- one McNamara again describes as abstract, and one that creates an understanding of the time necessary to create such a painting.

The Man Behind the Art

When visiting McNamara at his home adjacent to the Buffalo National River, it doesn't take long to see the things that capture his attention and imagination. The drive snakes up a steep gravel road overlooking the river valley, through unspoiled forests and by numerous small creeks, any of which could be the artist's next subject.

About five miles down the rural road, on the ridge of the mountain, sits McNamara's home -- modest by any account, and one he built with his own hands. Across the road is the house he and his ex-wife, Milancy, constructed -- on their own -- after the two had moved from Louisiana in 1976. William and Milancy, though divorced now for five years, have maintained a good relationship. In fact, Milancy, who still lives in the home they built, remains William's business manager.

A north Louisiana native, William attended Centenary College in Shreveport where he met Milancy. He graduated with a double major in English and art, but started out as a math student. Although William says his mother first put a brush in his hand at 1, becoming an artist was actually one of the last things he imagined.

In high school, William dreamed of becoming an architect; in college, a writer. In ways, he's accomplished both. Building his homes, he says, was a dream come true. He has also written four novels, and he hopes to publish his most recent, which is set in Hot Springs. "Writing has just been a lifelong hobby of mine," William said.

But art has remained a constant in William's life. After graduating Centenary, he taught art at the college for two years and was offered a full-time position if he obtained a master's degree. Free spirited, William and Milancy, who were by then married, chose a graduate school based on the area in which they wanted to live. "And I love the Sangre de Cristo Mountains," he said, smiling. The two moved in 1972 to Las Vegas, N.M., and William got his master's at the small New Mexico Highlands University.

Afterwards, the couple returned to Shreveport where William taught for two more years. "I loved teaching," William said. "I didn't love living in the city, though. And I hated having to be at certain places at certain times. College teaching is a wonderful job, and I enjoyed the students and the energy of it. But I don't know that I would have gotten to where I am if I had stayed in teaching -- I guess because of what it takes to do it."

It was a stronger love and longing for peace and solitude, though, that brought William and Milancy to Arkansas. When asked what provided him the confidence to give up the salary of a full-time and prestigious job and move to a pristine, yet remote, area in Newton County, William laughed, "I'm not quite sure. That wasn't as well thought out as it should have been."

He paused and added, "Well, we didn't need much to live once we moved up here. But we had saved up enough. We had renovated an old house and sold it and had a bit of money to live on." Knowing William and his sense of self-reliance means knowing that his definition of "enough" is quite different than what most people today would think.

Sitting in the home he and Milancy lived in, it's amazing to learn it was the first he'd built. The rustic wood and stone structure, filled with William's work, abounds with wonderful examples of the couple's resourcefulness. Large pillars and beams are made from hand-hewn cherry wood from a tree that had fallen on their land. Beautiful wooden flooring was salvaged from a home in Louisiana. Stained-glass windows were purchased for $5 a piece. And a large marble slab used by early typesetters when hammering characters in place now serves as a handsome countertop on hand-crafted cabinets.

Talking to William, learning of his education, his skills and many interests, the question arises, Why settle here? Why the Buffalo National River?

Between graduate school and his return to teaching, William and Milancy spent a year traveling with friends in Europe, haunting galleries and places with histories embedded in art. In cities like Paris and Florence William was able to see firsthand -- and for the first time -- masterpieces from the artists he'd studied so long. Before this, William said artists like Michelangelo were "mythical creatures." Seeing for himself not only the actual paintings, but where these artists lived, made these men real.

"It made me realize they were certain people at a certain place and time," William said. "It made me think that I wanted to find a place of my own." And while a day with William will reveal that while he's every bit the Renaissance man, life in Florence would not suit him well, and Paris could never be considered a place of his own.

William knew being true to himself was important in more ways than the art that would result. William, who'd grown up in rural Louisiana, knew the values that go along with a small-town, slow-paced life. "I didn't want to have kids in the city," he said. His first thought was to move back to New Mexico, but Milancy wanted to stay closer to her family in New Orleans.

In 1974, the McNamaras visited the Ozarks with a friend to search for a place to live. While looking near Harrison, they saw an ad for 80 acres on the Buffalo. "It was Easter when we first saw this land. The irises were blooming, and the water was running," he paused, the memory obviously still vivid in his mind, "We bought it. I could see how rugged the wilderness was. The Buffalo was here, and it just looked interesting."

Frugal as they were, William knew he couldn't live on savings and resourcefulness alone. William turned to his art. Although he'd painted steadily since college, and even sold a few works, he'd not -- until this point -- thought of making a living of it. And he still thought painting would only supplement some other, yet-to-be-determined source of income.

In 1980, he exhibited his watercolors at a local community college, where a gallery owner from Fort Smith, Bettye Moulten, discovered William's work. "At the same time a guy from Capricorn Gallery in Bethesda, Maryland, called me and said he'd seen something in Watercolor USA, which is a national competition that I enter every once in a while," William said.

"While I dealt with some people on the East Coast, I realized I could do as good here," William said. "And it was much easier." He began to work closely with Moulten, at first selling his originals for about $800. Within eight years, they were selling for $3,000 and more. Today, a 22" by 30" painting -- a standard-sized full watercolor sheet -- sells for about $7,200.

"Then it just kind of built from there," William said. "Being here and painting the Buffalo attracts publicity on its own, and television stations and newspapers and magazines have all done articles which have helped. In '82 Milancy started doing the reproductions, and that kind of spread it around. It's just slowly grown."

Life, the Buffalo and Inspiration

Success, though, has not affected William's humble, down-to-earth demeanor. A visit with William at his home or studio can -- in a few mere hours -- make one feel as though a reunion with an old friend has occurred, that time has slipped away too quickly. But for a man intimately in tune with nature, William appears most at home in his backyard that borders the protected wilderness area of the Buffalo River.

On a recent sunny, cool day, William led the way down a small trail from Milancy's house to the road. "This path is more than 20 years old," he said. "My children walked this to get on the bus every day."

He crossed the road and, in short time, entered the wilderness area. His knowledge of the terrain and its features is intimate, laced with both facts and cherished moments. This is his home. As he walked alongside a stream on his way to Dug Hollow, which is featured in many of his paintings, he stopped, plucked a clover-like plant, and took a bite. "Oxalis," he said. "It's got a tart taste."

He continued at a leisurely pace, pointing out flowers and plants he knew by name, animal tracks, rocks stacked that he'd not noticed before and informing that he should be on the lookout for morels -- a species of prized edible mushrooms. As he entered the hollow, he passed a deeper pool in the stream, one where he often bathes.

There seemed to be in William's mind pleasant memories -- those that stand out as special moments in life -- associated with every feature he passed on his way toward the Buffalo. "This is where I painted my middle son when he was about 2," he said. "We'd come down here a lot. Most of the time, I'd sit here on this rock in the sun and paint some while Milancy read a book."

Strangely enough, William will say it is not the Ozarks or Buffalo that inspires his art -- life provides this. "Actually I've painted before [moving to the Buffalo], and would paint wherever I happened to be. What this [area] does for me is that it inspires me to live. And I like to live here."

The Evolution of McNamara's Style

In college, William became a master of imitation. "I could sort of copy anybody's style and paint any way they did," he said. "And I tried everything. Abstracts...just about anything you could think of."

While he primarily painted oils throughout his schooling -- in fact, his master's degree is in oil painting -- watercolors eventually became his preferred medium. At first, a watercolor painting took only two to three hours to complete. But in 1970, while camped along a river in Idaho, William sat down for what he thought would be a simple sketch of rocks on the shore. He ended up working on the painting for nine hours.

"It was just sort of the beginning of what I do now," he said, adding that he now spends as much as two or three months on each piece. The meticulous effort he puts forth is both a curse and a blessing. Like anyone, artists must produce in order to make a living. But William refuses to be rushed, which is evident in his paintings.

Oddly enough, William cites no specific painter as having had a major influence on his style. If anyone has, William said, it would be photographer Elliot Porter. "I remember specifically looking at his photographs and saying, 'See, I'd like to paint like that,'" William said. "If you see [Porter's] work, you would understand. He worked in color and these real intense patterns. And patterns are probably my main interest."

Usually long, broad strokes typify those found in watercolors. Not so in a McNamara piece. After all, textures and patterns in nature involve minute details -- the compilation of smaller pieces coming together to reveal the whole. It is this detail, this painstaking process that sets William's work apart. Understandably, he does not like being labeled a photorealist, something many have done. While considered a realist, the artist makes it clear, through words and his art, that there is more -- much more -- to his work. And critics have taken notice.

McNamara's works have been in major exhibitions, such as the Butler Institute of American Art and the National Watercolor Society. The artist has also had solo exhibits at the Arkansas Arts Center and the Springfield Art Museums, both of which include his paintings in their permanent collections.

Perhaps, though, it is those who've been to the Ozark Mountains, those who have seen the Buffalo River and felt its sense of serenity, almost spirituality, who most appreciate the things that William sees and interprets through art. Fittingly, the National Park Service chose to reproduce as murals McNamara's paintings of the Buffalo River region to adorn its visitors center at Tyler Bend.

When asked of his greatest accomplishment, William quickly mentions the three sons he and Milancy have raised -- the youngest now 17. As far as his craft is concerned, he said, "Just keeping on as long as I have. Most of the artists I know have a certain length of time and they kind of burn themselves out. I've managed to keep it going, and I've reached skill levels I didn’t even consider possible."

To illustrate the power of art, William paints a picture with a story: "There was something I learned when I first went to Europe and studied artists like Botticelli. He was just another Renaissance painter to me, and I'd seen all the reproductions in the books. But when you actually stand in front of one of his paintings -- other than the fact that they're 12 feet tall -- you see the glow of the whole thing...the presence of the object is something that in our modern day culture almost gets lost."

Thinking of William's art and the aura of the Buffalo National River in the same way seems natural. While a William McNamara print is awe-inspiring, the glow of his work is something that must be experienced firsthand...as is true of the magic of the Buffalo's beauty.

While William's watercolors have been sold to people around the world, Milancy is the only dealer selling originals. The limited-edition prints, though, are easier to find. They sell at art and frame shops in cities around the state. The prints can also be viewed on-line at www.mcnamarawatercolors.com, which also provides ordering information.