Ideas spread out through generations, like twisting tributaries of a river. It is an artist’s joy to navigate a sinuous course, absorbing various influences and leaving others. Some, like painter and sculptor Will Hemsley, fluidly move through ideas and bring them together. And the knowledge he gathers from each impacts how he treats the other.
Will is interested in the world around him and not only the Chesapeake Bay region and his art but also how all disciplines — science, literature, economics — connect. He is a keen observer and thinker. The water coursing through the Eastern Shore is an apt metaphor for the influences coursing through his work.
A local Eastern Shoreman, Will is originally from Kent Island and descends from the venerated American Revolution veteran and aide-de-camp of then-general George Washington, Tench Tilghman. His father, Tilghman Hemsley, is an artist and charter boat captain. Undoubtedly, he learned much from his father, inheriting both the love of salt water and the love of creating.
Naturally autodidactic, the compartmentalized way he received information in high school frustrated him. But during college and early in his career, as he saw connections everywhere — it changed things for him. “In art, experimentation rules,” he says. The freedom he found in exploration would be crucial early in his career.
While attending St. Mary’s College, Will trained as a painter, only taking one sculpture class. Later, a client who had purchased paintings explained that he was looking for a sculpture of Canada geese and asked if he could create what he was looking for. Without pausing, Will said, “Yes.” Improvising, he took geese from his freezer and used the birds as models for the new commission. Though his sculpture experience was limited, he ignored the obstacles, creating a celebrated work.
