Artist Spotlight

Bill Sutherland

Name: Bill Sutherland

City: Fort Lauderdale

Birthplace: Nova Scotia, Canada

Artistic Medium: Photography

How did you get started?
Taking photos for the family newspaper while in high school.

Who or what are your influences?
Newspaper and news magazine photographers, and also some professional photographers at Kodak in Rochester, New York, where I had been employed as a research scientist.

What inspires your work?
I love the beauty of the natural world, especially sea and landscapes.

How does Miami/South Florida influence your work?
Well, I love to photograph fish while scuba diving on our beautiful coral reefs, and I wanted to share this beauty with others—in part, to foster greater environmental awareness on the part of the public.

How would you describe your work?
Although like most photographers I have my fields of specialization, I believe that a good photographer should be able to take decent photos of pretty much anything.   Accordingly, unlike many professional photographers, I try to avoid becoming overly specialized in just one type of subject matter.  Perhaps not having to make my living by selling photographs affords me the luxury of playing and experimenting with new techniques.

What has been the most unusual reaction to your work from the public?
Most people who’ve had a sneak preview of my upcoming July exhibit simply cannot believe that we have such gorgeous fish just off our own beaches right here in Fort Lauderdale.  They seem to feel one must travel to some far off exotic place to find them, and they don’t.

What would you like to achieve as an artist?
As a former scientist who’d been interested in technology, I find new digital technology fascinating—it is just so flexible and powerful!  However, I’d like to become so comfortable with this technology that I can just forget about it, and concentrate solely on my subject matter. 

Upcoming shows:
During the month of July:  “World of Blue and Green: Fort Lauderdale’s Splendid Reefs”, at Stork’s café, 2505 NE 15 Avenue, Wilton Manors.

Where is your work available?
Directly from me, at: JWHSutherland@aol.com

If you are an artist and would like to be a part of Artist Spotlight, contact Mary Damiano at StarrWriter2000@aol.com