Carmel Magazine

his 11th birthday. Bullas later earned a scholar- ship to study art and drama at Arizona State University. After being drafted and serving in Vietnam, he settled at the Brooks Institute of Fine Arts in Santa Barbara and trained with landscape painter Ray Strong. Bullas met his wife there, and the couple moved to the Monterey Peninsula after finishing school. "Neither one of us had jobs, and the Peninsula was full of galleries," he says. "I attempted to get into a few, but it just wasn't happening. So, we decided to regroup." They signed on with a local print shop, where she worked as a typesetter and layout artist and he learned to operate the printing press. Bullas kept painting and promoting his own work as well, and soon his watercolors drew attention. Today he is widely known for his humorous fine art prints that range from realistic to cartoony, depending on the subject, and feature clever wordplay and comic twists. "Socrates" stars the Greek philosopher hold- ing a martini; "Crowbar" centers on a line of birds sipping drinks as they sit at a bar. "It's the visual comedy, the humor, that I absolutely love. So many people can identify with it," Bullas says. His work has earned him acceptance into the National Watercolor Society and the American Watercolor Society, which also honored him in 2007 for his contributions to the field. Bullas has twice exhibited with the National Academy of Design in New York and his work is shown at several galleries. He also serves as the 2014 Carmel Art Association board president and as a Carmel Valley Art Association board member. Carmel Valley Art Association co-owner Shel- ley A. Aliotti calls Bullas "a master of one-liners." "I don't know what's better—his art or his humor," she says. "He's probably one of the most optimistic artists I've ever met." Aliotti, who has featured Bullas' artwork in her gallery for several years, finds visitors drawn to his lighthearted paintings. Often, she'll hear them laughing from across the room as they view his comical caricatures. He draws big crowds for the gallery's meet-the-artist events, and he also takes the time to share advice on the creative process, marketing, and growing an art business in the digital world. "He's able to share what he's learned over the years and he's not afraid to help people. He's very generous," says Aliotti. When Bullas addresses those audiences of artists, he advises them to be persistent. "Probably the most important thing an artist needs to do today, if he wants to expand his market and his worldwide brand recognition, is to be patient. It's not going to happen overnight. It's not a house on fire," he says. "It's a controlled smoldering." To learn more about Will Bullas and his artwork, visit www.willbullas.com. Beyond the whimsy of creating images like "Cheep Shots," Bullas has been entered in the National Watercolor Society and American Watercolor Society since at least 2007. "We Are Poor Little Lambs." Will Bullas studied art at Arizona State University, served in Vietnam, and then studied art again at the Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara. C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S U M M E R / F A L L 2 0 1 4 211

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