Introducing William Ternay

William Ternay, AKA Bill, has been a good friend of mine for over *****

years. In a recent interview for ShoutoutLA I mention a wonderful, versatile artist who taught me that I didn’t have to be a great illustrator or painter to be considered an artist. Bill is the person who said that to me.

Here is Bill and his Art.

Courtroom Illustrations

Bill's 2500+ judicial drawings have appeared on

all of the major TV networks. This has inspired him to write a book

chronicling his experiences as a courtroom artist. Coming soon!

Multimillionaire John E. du Pont was convicted of murdering an Olympic wrestler, but jurors ruled that he was mentally ill, sparing du Pont a possible life sentence. After seven days of deliberation, the jury found du Pont guilty of third-degree murder, or murder without premeditated intent, in February of 1997. You can see Foxcatcher on Netflix. This 2014 film is loosely based on this murder. It stars Steve Carell as du Pont and Mark Ruffalo as David Schultz, the murder victim.

Above is a courtroom illustration of Reverend Daniel J. Berrigan, a Jesuit priest and poet whose defiant protests helped shape the tactics of opposition to the Vietnam War. He, with his brother, Philip, along with seven other Catholic activists entered a Knights of Columbus building in Catonsville and went up to the second floor where the local draft board had offices. In front of astonished clerks, they seized hundreds of draft records, carried them down to the parking lot and set them on fire with homemade napalm. This catalyzing episode occurred on May 17, 1968, six weeks after the murder of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the resulting outbreak of riots in dozens of cities. After a trial that served as a platform for their antiwar message, the Berrigans were convicted of destroying government property and sentenced to three years each in the federal prison in Danbury, Conn. Having exhausted their appeals, they were to begin serving their terms on April 10, 1970. Instead, they raised the stakes by going underground. The men who had been on the cover of Time were now on the FBI's most-wanted list. As Daniel explained in a letter to the French magazine Africasia, he was not buying the “mythology” fostered by American liberals that there was a “moral necessity of joining illegal action to legal consequences.” In any case, both brothers were tracked down and sent to prison.

Portraits

Here's Bill sitting below one of his favorite portraits. Painted posthumously, it’s a portrait of the famous art collector, Dr. Albert Barnes.

Albert Coombs Barnes (January 2, 1872 – July 24, 1951) was an American chemist, businessman, art collector, writer, and educator, and the founder of the Barnes Foundation in Lower Merion, Pennsylvania. In 2012, the museum relocated in downtown Philadelphia. Bill was a major opponent of the move and was one of 40 artists who donated to an Art Fund to fight the move. As a member of the Friends of the Barnes, he and the other members believed that the relocation of the Foundation would do irreparable harm, and felt that Dr. Barnes’s wish was to keep its integrity preserved. National media figures, such as Christopher Knight of the Los Angeles Times, Lee Rosenbaum of the New York Times, Ada Louise Huxtable of the Wall Street Journal, and Richard Lacayo of TIME Magazine, among others denounced the folly of the proposed move. See The Art of the Steal, a documentary that follows the struggle for control of Dr. Albert C. Barnes's 25 billion dollar collection of modern and post-impressionist art.

You can watch it on YouTube HERE

Attributes in the painting: Why is Barnes holding his dog? In 1940, Barnes and his wife Laura (painted to the left of him holding a plant symbolizing the Arboretum she cultivated which is now the horticulture school of St. Joseph’s University) purchased an 18th-century estate in West Pikeland Township, Pennsylvania, and named it "Ker-Feal" (Breton for “House of Fidèle”) after their favorite dog. Barnes requested art dealer Georges Keller adopt and bring the dog he met while vacationing in Brittany, France to his home in Merion, PA. The mysterious woman to the right of Barnes is Violette de Mazia- his mistress and co-author of four Foundation publications. The sunglasses she wears are to assuage her sensitivity to light and she was known to always wear a gardenia in her hair. Barnes died on July 24, 1951 in an automobile crash. Driving from Ker-Feal to Merion with his dog Fidèle, he failed to stop at a stop sign and was hit broadside by a truck and was killed instantly. Fidèle was severely injured from the crash and was put down on the scene.

This portrait is of my daughter at 9 (she’s now 36) and was painted by Bill after a family and friends visit to Philadelphia. What I find remarkable is that Bill, knowing we lived in LA, re-imagined a background to reflect the West Coast. (He took many photos of Blair during the 2 hours we spent in the backyard of a friend’s home in suburban Philadelphia.) Imagine trying to get a 9-year old to sit for endless hours, right? He captured the essence of her. It’s my own personal Mona Lisa---enigmatic smile, threequarter view, sfumato background and her eyes follow you everywhere!

Miniatures and Murals

Here’s a landscape that Bill painted in Deer Isle Maine. The detail is amazing---

especially considering it’s postcard size --- 5” x 7” !

Bill’s diverse style and ability go from painting miniatures to mural size. Exemplified by the above, this Native American mural (4' by 8') was painted about 10 years ago for a teenage boy’s bedroom. Recently, Bill ran into his mother. She said her son had just gotten married, and the mural is still on the wall of his bedroom. A fun moment for Bill.

Sorry for my image quality, but you get the idea. So much better in person!

Book Covers

For a dramatic (maybe even melodramatic) change of pace which shows Bill’s immense versatility, is an example of one of his romantic book covers. A doll, sold as a collector’s item by the Franklin Mint, was made of Francesca, the principal character of a series of romantic novels. Bill was asked to do the book cover replicating the cliché of the couple--- blonde bombshell with a tall, dark handsome hunk. She has that “Morgan Fairchild” 70s look, don’t you think?

The doll, presently available on Ebay, is listed as rare. Only 500 were made.

Watercolor Landscape

A favorite medium of Bill’s is watercolor. Painting with watercolors is difficult. It is a hard medium to work with, largely because it can be unforgiving and unpredictable. Mistakes are almost impossible to correct, and its fluid nature makes it hard to control. Yet, these very qualities give the medium its undeniable charm.

Bill has mastered this.

Sketchbook Drawings

Below is an example of Bill’s sketchbook drawings. This one is of his musician son, Pierce, AKA Wayne--- and daughter-in-law, Maggie, AKA Lucy--- at a gig of their band, Hymn for Her. Listen to their unique sound HERE . Bill always has his sketchbook with him ---it’s almost an appendage!

Sketching in Beverly Hills

One funny and startling story I’ll never forget about Bill’s sketching fervor happened on a visit here in LA.

Bill, sketchbook in hand, and I were having lunch at a restaurant on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. A stunning but eccentric-looking woman with two cohorts dramatically entered the restaurant and took a table in the corner of the patio dining area. Bill whipped out his sketchbook and did his thing as we ate our lunch. Surprisingly, the two men she was with approached the table and demanded to see the sketch. Not to make a fuss, Bill showed it to them.

They wanted it…for free.

The woman, apparently, was a famous actress from South America but, obviously to her disappointment, no one at the restaurant recognized her. Bill, of course, was not going to give them the sketch for free. She was in a public place and he assured them that he wasn’t going to sell it or contact The Enquirer (as if they would want it, right?) The two burly men insisted; Bill resisted and persisted. It

was beginning to get a bit heated--- so much so that other patrons were rubbernecking and the maître d' started to walk over from his podium.

So, in Bill’s quiet way, he ripped the page out of his sketchbook…and tore it up in front of the astonished “audience”.

The maître d' and other onlookers were shocked--- and spontaneously applauded. The bullies retreated back to their table. I just love that story.

"In my sketchbooks I am my own hero, and anything goes.”--- Bill Ternay

In Bill's Own Words...

When is the first time you saw art? What did you think?

“When I was about three or four years old, I became aware of what, for me, was a piece of “Art.” It hung on the wall in our farmhouse. It was a picture in an oval frame, about 10 inches wide. What I found most fascinating were vegetation and dried flowers nestled between the oval glass and the hand-painted landscape beyond. As I describe this to you, I can see it still, now hanging on the wall of my studio. It is a lovely piece of “tourist art,” bought by my parents when on their honeymoon at the World’s Fair in New York City in 1936.”

What period of art is your favorite?

“Favorite genre is the Impressionists.”

What artist or artists have influenced you the most?

“John Singer Sargent, Pierre Bonnard, at the top of a long list.”

Do you have a favorite color?

“Blue”

Do you have a favorite work of art --- not by you!

“A Sunday On La Grande Jatte. by Georges Seurat. Amazing composition, wonderful negative and positive shapes, color, drawing, technique, and expression.”

What artist would you like most to be next to a work of yours?

“A portrait of me painted by Lucien Freud.”

Have you dabbled into the medium of photography?

“Although I love photography, more fun is the challenge of copying a work I admire in my sketchbook in pen and ink. A camera shutter goes “click,” whereas the focus and skill needed to copy a work is so much more intimate and informative.”

Do you prefer to look at art alone or with others?

“Sometimes being alone is a pleasure because it is like having a date with yourself.

Being with a friend brings out the teacher in me.”

What do you consider your biggest accomplishment?

“Being a courtroom artist for over 50 years and sketching over 2500 pieces for TV.”

Are there any rituals you have before starting a new work?

“Sometimes there is stage fright, but I always remind myself that I’ve been in front of the blank canvas many times before and, on most days, survived.”

Who or what do you go to for inspiration?

“Depends on the project. If a portrait, I look at Sargent or Freud or Hockney. Too many to list!. For Illustration, I have so many favorites to choose from. Often it depends on the medium.

When do you know when an artwork is completed?

“After all the technical stuff looks right—color, values, edges, likeness. Finally, it always comes down to the aesthetics. Someone once said in response to this question, ‘How do you know when a conversation is over? Or when you’re done making love?’ You just kinda know.”

Do you feel that a title is necessary?

“Viewers seem to need a title. It might give them a hint of a “back story” when they view a work of art. Sometimes I’ll just use a number, like ‘Maine #2, 2020.’ Other times I’ll write a few lines on the back of the art, describing time of day, my feelings, the “what, when, where, why” of my experience while painting.”

What are you working on now?

“Finishing a large double portrait of a couple standing behind their two 1970s Corvettes.”

What do you think is the artist’s role is in society, if any?

“When I find myself questioning the role of artists in society, I often head to the nearest museum and quietly observe my fellow humans, looking intently (or not}, forming opinions about their likes or dislikes, and hopefully being moved in some way by the experience of viewing what each of us calls “Art” or “art.” I always have a smile on my face when I leave.

What are you working on now?

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