Dome man seeking to be art philanthropist aug 16 2010 issue

By Ken Baumel

Willard Bond, an internationally recognized 85-year-old Barryville, New York marine artist, has set his sights on a philanthropic project.

Bond has been donating his time each year since 1999 to National Hospice Regatta Alliance fund raising projects. Also, each year, he donates to the alliance works derived from one of his yacht-racing paintings.

The association mission is to independently raise money and awareness for local hospices; the alliance mission is to raises money to support local hospices.

The regional-regatta venues include Toronto, Canada; Niagara, New York; Long Island Sound, Annapolis, San Diego, Michigan, Maryland, Maine; Raritan, New Jersey; Florida, and Santa Barbara, California.

Bond suggested this year and the alliance agreed to a new ambitious, philanthropic, fund-raising project: Bond would raise for the alliance up to $6 million from the sale of Bond signed-limited edition prints.

This initiative would benefit the alliance significantly more than in the past, noted Alliance President Jean Kluttz.

Bond plans to make prints for the alliance project from digital photos of the original paintings owned by galleries, museums, and private collectors worldwide.

The alliance would get a large chunk of the proceeds and Bond would get a retainer to offset project expenses.

The prints would be auctioned or marketed at 26 regional alliance events, according to Kluttz.

Bond is seeking an investor to cover printing and production costs related to signing 150 limited-edition prints of each of 45 of Bond’s paintings.

Bond’s signed print limited-edition prints (http://www.arnoldart.com/bond/bondw.htm) have a current-market value of close to $1,000 each. He expects to market each print at each regional regatta and one national one.

The hospice invited Bond to be guest lecturer at each of 25 annual regional and national regatta events sponsored by the hospice.

At each venue, Bond would present lectures about yacht racing, marine painting, and his works. The alliance agreed that Bond would get proceeds from sales of original paintings.

Bond is represented by Annapolis Marine Gallery in Maryland and other galleries throughout the world. He is a fellow member of the American Society of Marine Artists and has been featured in various publications, such as Sea History, Nautical Quarterly, the Yacht, art journals, and the Pike County Dispatch.

Bond was born in the Pacific Northwest and grew up in Lake Coeur d’Alene in northern Idaho. He served in the South Pacific in U.S. Navy during World War II. The war against Japan ended on August 15, 1945, after the U.S. bombed Japanese cities of Hiroshima on August 6 and Nagasaki on August 9.

Bond said, "I was on Navy observation team that went to ground zero in Hiroshima after August 9.

Bond said that he survived exposure to high-radiation levels there, but doctors told him he could have health issues from that exposure later in life.

After the war, Bond studied art at the Chicago Art Institute and the Art Student's League and Pratt Institute in New York City. He earned a fine arts degree from Pratt.

Bond said that he did not start his painting career immediately after graduation. He continued to paint, but experimented with ceramic art while living in SOHO, New York. From 1970 to 1976, he built geodesic domes Jamaica, a Caribbean nation.

By the mid 1970s, Bond assembled a body of marine paintings, mostly of square-rigged ships

In 1976, he got his first big breaks into the New York City fine-art scene.

Bond had been struggling to find a major gallery willing to take on an unknown painter. One owner asked Bond why any major gallery should show his work.

Bond said, "Because I will be a major marine artist." The owner decided to take a flyer on a Bond painting and accepted one on consignment.

Then, an introduction to document America Cup races in the 1980’s opened a much wider audience for Bond's work. He then started to specialize in competition yacht-racing paintings.

Although his art career then skyrocketed, he suffered intermittently from health problems.

About 10 years ago he endured a serious bout with cancer, but recovered. Since then, Bond had another bout with cancer and two major knee operations. Bond said that health issues drained him of energy to paint, almost ended his career, and put tremendous strain on his finances.

Circumstances got so bad that he was forced to sell off property. Bond then had to find inexpensive living and work quarters just to survive. The knowledge of building domes then came in handy.

A few years ago, Bond built a geodesic dome on a small property he still retains in Barryville. This domes serves as temporary home and work studio.

Said Bond, climbing up a ladder was the hardest part of building the dome, but a neighbor helped Bond through the entire project.

Revenue from the regatta painting sales would help Bond build a permanent-geodesic-dome (residence) and a permanent art-studio.

The geodesic-dome design he plans to use is similar to one featured on the cover of a past Popular Science Magazine issue.

Near-death experiences during his cancer struggles made him realize the value of whatever time Bond has left. He wants to keep on painting. "I don’t ever want to retire.

This new (philanthropic) project has given me a new purpose. I know that the works I donate will be worth a lot more after I die.

"I know I will be helping a lot of people in hospices. I want to serve the community on a larger scale and this is the project that will do it."