Larry Williams

“ATFS is a safe and secure context for saving peoples’ lives, a saving grace. When I began this art journey with AFTS I was inspired by other artists in the program and began using colors and paint. As inspiration for a new piece begins I research my vision. My art is like a puzzle in the story and my picture comes from the background.”

Larry Williams is a local Austinite, raised in the Eastside, that has been attending our open studios since 2008. The visual arts and performance arts have always been part of his life as both his parents were Fine Arts teachers in higher education at Huston Tillotson. Williams and his older brother were drawn towards music but during his formative years, Williams also developed an interest in pencil drawings. While he and his brother were still underage they would sneak into the Victory Grill to listen to the performers and sometimes perform themselves. As he began his art journey with AFTS he became inspired by our other artists using colors and paint. When he suddenly gets inspiration for a new piece he then begins to research his vision. Williams describes his art as being like a puzzle where the "story in the picture comes from the background he gathers from his research". His constant use of red and yellow colors in his paintings is his way of avoiding going too dark in any aspect of his life or thinking. Now Williams plays both the bass guitar and the piano and loves sight-reading scores. He has played at venues around Austin including the Hilton Hotel and now works with the Community Engagement Task Force of the George Washington Carver Museum Expansion Project. He still likes to come by AFTS and reconnect with the community and draw inspiration from both the artists and volunteers.