Rows of crops and figures tending them line the walls of Gallery Los Olivos as part of the venue’s latest solo exhibition.
Over the past five years, featured painter Bobby Williams has created dozens of oil paintings depicting agricultural workers—and he has no plans to stop anytime soon.
“I feel as if I have just scratched the surface of this series,” the Santa Ynez-based artist said in an email interview. “I’ve learned that revisiting the subject matter over a long period of time allows me to consider it from every possible angle, and it forces me to push myself creatively to come up with new ways of approaching things.”
Williams titled the ongoing series Pillars to commend its subjects as literal pillars that hold up the food system. Aside from sharing the same occupation, each figure Williams illustrates is alike in that their faces are intentionally hidden, with their heads typically covered by sun hats or hoods.
According to the artist, the goal behind this choice was to create an uncomfortable tension and to represent generations of agricultural workers who do their jobs without the recognition they deserve.
While gradually completing new additions to the Pillars collection, Williams has sold several pieces over the years to buyers who the series’ subject matter resonates with.
“More times than I can count, patrons have reached out to share stories of family members who were migrant workers,” Williams said. “They speak of grandmothers, aunts, fathers, brothers … who sacrificed so much to support their families.
“Often, they purchase these pieces in memoriam or in acknowledgment of their loved ones’ hard work,” the artist added. “They describe the bravery of moving to a new country where you have no contacts and don’t speak the language. They talk about how this bravery and sacrifice inspired them to achieve great things in their own lives ... from being the first in their family to graduate from college to overcoming difficult obstacles of their own, like addiction.”
Williams recently completed the Pillars series’ 100th piece, a milestone currently on display among 15 selected original oil paintings in Gallery Los Olivos’ Pillars 2024 exhibition. Described as a retrospective of agricultural life on the Central Coast, the show opened on July 1 and will remain up through July 31.
While the series features vistas of different types of ag land, the one backdrop of this kind Williams prefers to avoid is a vineyard setting, despite the painter’s longtime career in estate wine sales.
“A couple of previous paintings from the Pillars series do include vineyards in the composition. However, I feel that it’s a subject matter that already receives a lot of attention from local artists because we are in wine country, so I try to focus on something different,” Williams said. “‘Wine art’ can run the risk of being cliché, or overly idealized, and I suppose I’m trying to produce work that is a bit deeper in meaning. It’s not just about creating a pleasing scene for me.”
Born in Northern California and raised in Missouri, Williams worked as a sommelier in New York City before moving to the Central Coast to continue working as both a wine professional and painter.
“My plan from a very young age was to be a professional artist, and I did complete a few semesters of art school. ... I’ve been producing art regularly since high school,” Williams said. “I always considered myself an artist first, and the necessity to have a day job came later. I’m fortunate to be at a place in my art career now where I regularly sell work, but it’s still not enough to live comfortably in Santa Barbara County.”
What’s Williams’ secret to balancing the two careers? “Never take a day off.”
“Seriously. I put my ‘wine guy’ hat on during the week and make sure I show up ready to paint every weekend. It’s like I have two separate identities,” Williams said. “It sounds grueling, but painting is very relaxing for me. It gives me something to look forward to when I’m having a frustrating week at work.”
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