Josh Williams grew up in Austin, TX where he was raised by his loving parents, Rick Williams and Nancy Springer-Baldwin. Josh and his younger sister Kate Williams were exposed to art at an early age by their parents who both had photographic talents and surrounded themselves with artists and writers.

Josh began to explore his own creativity around age 4 by drawing portraits of his family and copying pictures out of comic books and his parents photo books. He continued to draw and dabble in photography throughout his adolescence and into High School. It wasn’t until the second year of his undergraduate degree at the University of Texas at Austin that Josh decided to take his creativity serious and further develop his talents. In the fall of 1996 Josh dropped his Advertising major and enlisted in the College of Fine Arts at UT. Here he developed a passion for painting and drawing the figure. He studied formally under respected artists such as Michael Mogavero, Richard Jordan and Dan Sutherland who encouraged Josh to paint in oils in a bold and aggressive manner and on a large scale. Josh began to develop his style inspired by his teachers who he respected deeply and by artists such as Picasso, Giacametti, Modigliani and Bonnard to name just a few. He continued painting the figure and developing this style throughout the remainder of his College career.

After graduating the University of Texas with a degree in Studio Art, Josh began to receive commissions to paint portraits. Today, Josh is married to Bryn Nowlin and living happily in Austin, TX where he continues his portraiture practice while exploring and developing his own creative ideas and interests.

You can find examples of Rick Williams work in his book of photography documenting the Cattle, Oil and High Tech industries in Texas. The book is entitled Working Hands and is available in most book stores.