BILL MEGRAIL
BIOGRAPHY
"There is a handful of artists we deeply respect, and Bill Megrail is one of them," states the owner of Galería Dante. His long career and talent speak for themselves. Bill approaches almost everything he does with enthusiasm, exclaiming, "My life has always been art." After receiving a scholarship to the New York School of Contemporary Art at age 17, he earned a degree in Design from San Jose State University and later pursued postgraduate studies in painting at San Francisco State University.
For Bill, painting is "meditation in action; it sharpens one's ability to see. Lush jungle environments—with their tropical plants, flowers, and fruits—along with rural landscapes occasionally dotted with livestock and select urban views, invite the viewer to step into his paintings."
Bill arrived in Puerto Vallarta from San Francisco in his thirties; he initially came for a two-week vacation but stayed for five months, later returning to settle permanently. He loved the climate, and furthermore, "in the 70s, art was part of Vallarta's culture." He divided his time between San Miguel de Allende and Vallarta, eventually choosing our port city as his permanent home. Since arriving in the Puerto Vallarta area in the 1970s, he has become a recognized figure within the Mexican art community.
He has also consistently supported community art programs, such as the Puerto Vallarta Cultural Center and the Peter Gray Art Museum, where he served as curator for five years. Under his leadership, he fostered an appreciation for art among local children through community-based art appreciation and creation activities.
Throughout his distinguished artistic career spanning over thirty years in Mexico, he has exhibited his work in numerous galleries and magazines across the country, as well as in the United States and London. In the 1990s, he was invited to Southeast Asia to serve as an advisor on an art acquisition trip. In 2004, the town of Damburg (Netherlands) invited Bill to participate in the International Painters' Week.
For Bill, there was never any other possible way of life. "If you’re an artist, what else can you do? There is no choice. Anything else would drive me absolutely crazy. I can’t attend business meetings; even if no one ever bought another painting, I would keep painting."
Currently, his works are held in more than 200 private collections belonging to both domestic and international clients.
For Bill, painting is "meditation in action; it sharpens one's ability to see. Lush jungle environments—with their tropical plants, flowers, and fruits—along with rural landscapes occasionally dotted with livestock and select urban views, invite the viewer to step into his paintings."
Bill arrived in Puerto Vallarta from San Francisco in his thirties; he initially came for a two-week vacation but stayed for five months, later returning to settle permanently. He loved the climate, and furthermore, "in the 70s, art was part of Vallarta's culture." He divided his time between San Miguel de Allende and Vallarta, eventually choosing our port city as his permanent home. Since arriving in the Puerto Vallarta area in the 1970s, he has become a recognized figure within the Mexican art community.
He has also consistently supported community art programs, such as the Puerto Vallarta Cultural Center and the Peter Gray Art Museum, where he served as curator for five years. Under his leadership, he fostered an appreciation for art among local children through community-based art appreciation and creation activities.
Throughout his distinguished artistic career spanning over thirty years in Mexico, he has exhibited his work in numerous galleries and magazines across the country, as well as in the United States and London. In the 1990s, he was invited to Southeast Asia to serve as an advisor on an art acquisition trip. In 2004, the town of Damburg (Netherlands) invited Bill to participate in the International Painters' Week.
For Bill, there was never any other possible way of life. "If you’re an artist, what else can you do? There is no choice. Anything else would drive me absolutely crazy. I can’t attend business meetings; even if no one ever bought another painting, I would keep painting."
Currently, his works are held in more than 200 private collections belonging to both domestic and international clients.