“Not a trace of angst or elegiac feeling is to be found in these calmly sinuous paintings. Phill composes his paintings at the same time that he tries to dissolve the representational element of his images to create what could be called premier-coup abstraction,” Scott writes. First and foremost a colorist, Phill creates fiery, saturated hues critics say are reminiscent of David Hockney’s work. Working in an Abstract Expressionist style, he pieces together organic shapes in his abstractions and teases images from splatters of paint in his floral paintings. His canvases demonstrate an impressive control of his material. In large, loose gestures, he describes essential details – long, slender tendrils become reeds, pressed and flattened globs of paint turn into petals, and delicate veins emerge from colors bleeding together.

Some of the painters that he admires include Joan Mitchell, Willem de Kooning, Gerhard Richter and Helen Frankenthaler. As a long-time San Francisco Bay Area resident, he is quite taken by the Bay Area Figurative artists such as Richard Diebenkorn, Joan Brown, David Park, Elmer Bischoff and Nathan Oliveira. Phill is part of a vibrant artist community that continues to expand the Bay Area art traditions. Phill received his MFA from Stanford University and his BFA from San Francisco Art Institute. Phill’s work has been featured in: ARTnews; Art in America; California Home+Design; House Beautiful; Los Angeles Times; New York Sun; New Yorker; Wall Street International; and Who’s Who in the West, among other publications.