"Lite Box" Paintings

Bill Sherwood became an abstract artist quite by accident. While living in a house with bare walls, a friend told him he should put up some paintings. He thought, "Why not paint my own?" The rest is history. Another "fortunate" accident occurred one day when he was painting on canvas. He used a piece of acrylic to mix some paint. He left it propped against a window, and when a friend stopped by, he was astonished by this beautiful new work of art. It was lit up like a spectacular stained glass window. He told Bill this was his best piece yet. This sparked the idea of creating "reverse" paintings on acrylic (Plexiglas) and back lighting them to reveal their images.

Acrylic comes with a convenient sheet of paper already attached to it. Bill uses this paper to create his pattern by drawing on the paper using wax, or a felt pen, and then cutting out parts of the design with a blade. Then, he begins layering translucent acrylic paint (mixed with stained glass paint) to the acrylic, over the cut-out pattern, using squeegees and brushes. He continues layering until he feels content. In essence he is creating a negative image, much like a silkscreen, so that the light will actually reveal the image. Once the paint is dry, he applies a resin to the back of the glass to help create the look of stained glass. Then Bill constructs the light box frame or "lite box" as he calls it. He builds the frame using acrylic and installs fluorescent lights and dimmers to the back of it. Sometimes he sends the piece out for Neon light installation if called for.

The result is a fascinating, translucent, dimensional abstract work of art. Bill refers to his "lite box" paintings as "art traveling at the speed of light."