Williams depicts the world outside the mainstream, usually set in nature or a seemingly imaginary or folkloric world.  He’s interested in the characters who represent the archetypal outsider such as Baba Desi, the wizard living in the Dandenongs and ‘The Family’ cult leader Anne Hamilton-Byrne. He feels, though, that not all outsiders live on the fringes of society and that it could include all of us to some extent.

From working on fishing trawlers to single handedly building his own cabin in the forest, Williams does not seek out the safety of the comfortable life and it’s only been relatively recently that he has found a stability of sorts in comparison to his earlier, less predictable, life.

His current show Arcana II, showing at Galerie L’Inlassable in Paris, depicts scenarios inspired from a tarot card reading by a Parisian clairvoyant. The works are mysterious with a hint of foreboding. Powerful colour combinations and brushwork makes the viewer linger.

He believes he is a relatively unknown in Australia but that that has given him the freedom to work without restraint.

It was a  thoroughly enjoyable conversation. To hear it just press play beneath the feature photo above!

Scroll down to see a short video of Williams in his studio.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0py0oSjQXkU

‘Love at the end’ 2018, oil on canvas, 205 x 207cm (This is the painting we talk about at about 26m50s – when we’re talking about colour)

‘Apple orchard orgy’, 2016, oil monad pigment on canvas, 214.3 x 198.1cm

In the studio – progress shot of ‘Apple orchard orgy’ (we talk about this at 30m)

Works from The Attachment Series, 2012

‘Devola’, 2017, oil , pigment, enamel, sand on canvas, 203 x 152cm

‘Sphinx with head basket, 2014, stoneware ceramic, 25 x 13 x 13cm