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ABOUT THE ARTIST
Bill Donlen was born in Pottsville, Pennsylvania.
His family moved to modern suburban America, Levittown,
Pennsylvania, when he was 8. His education was accomplishedin
the Catholic elementary and high school system of the Archdiocese
of Philadelphia.
After graduation from Bishop Egan High School,
Bill spent more than 4 years with the Franciscan Fathers,
Third Order Regular, at St. Francis College in Loretto,
Pa. He completed a Bachelor of Arts Degree at Temple University
with major in Western European History, minors in Philosophy
and Latin. He took a Master of Arts degree in Education
from San Francisco State University, completing the program
in 1983.
Bill’s career is Education. He has taught
at Catholic High Schools in Trenton and Ramsey, NJ; Concord,
NH; Los Angeles and Vallejo, CA; Wilmington, DE. His first
work in Public Schools was as a substitute teacher in several
districts in Bucks County and he has now taught Social Studies
and Theater in Fairless Hills since 1995.
His work in literature is the direct result of
the intercession of the late Rev. Gerard Pavlock, TOR, senior
English teacher at Bishop Egan High School. Reverend Pavlock
required original thinking and writing from the beginning
of the school year and was relentless in his expectations.
These expectations inspired Bill to continue original work
into his time in the monastery, where he won several prizes
for poetry events sponsored by St. Francis College Literary.
Bill’s interest in Visual Art, resulting
from his personal studies of masters from the classical
world and The Renaissance, have generated a deep interest
in painting, sculpture, and architecture. Attention to exquisite
detail in those works led Bill to explore his interest in
photography. His time spent out of doors has produced a
humbling appreciation for the natural beauty in the world
around us and the forms in it. He has also participated
extensively in music and theater studies and performance
thereby furthering literary, lyric, and rhythmic skills
He worked in private, experimenting and developing
visual and camera technique through 25 years of unshown
works. About 7 years ago, inspired by a friend and fellow-artist,
Bill took stock of his better work and started to exhibit.
He has held successful exhibitions at several venues in
and around Philadelphia, Bucks County, and on Cape Cod,
Massachusetts.
The wide variety of subjects is a direct result
of Bill’s love of travel. His education career has
led him from the Mid-Atlantic region to New England, The
West Coast and Sierra Nevada, and various train routes across
and up and down the United States. He has driven across
country several times on several routes, each trip producing
literature and photographic work. After these travels he
works to refine the words and images.
The culmination of the literary and visual expressions
is present on this web site. While most of the work here
is photographic, some expressions include his poetic works,
especially where one work inspires the other. Bill is completing
work on a first book, tentatively entitled “Aurora
Sighed”, a combination of poetry and photography expressing
both the beauty and frequent sadness in this modern world.
He works to combine classic ideals of beauty, symmetry,
and pathos in both artistic fields separately, and in their
amalgamation.
Contact Bill through this website. He thoroughly
enjoys conversation with others interested in artistic expression,
believing that life is a continuous journey of learning
and love, both better shared than withheld regardless of
the return. Sometimes the sadness in a situation renders,
over time, the depth of the beauty in our lives and provides
a powerful counterpoint to the infrequent giddiness of laughter
for its own sake. All virtue stands in the middle.
June 27, 2006
Bill Donlen
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