Born in Cleveland, Ohio Bill Ahrendt began painting at 7 years old. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Cleveland Institute of Art, winning the school’s European Study Scholarship. He spent a year traveling Europe, studying master paintings everywhere he went. He settled in Germany, where he lived for 11 years while attending the Munich Fine Arts Academy. He moved back to the US and settled in Arizona, earning his Master of Art History at ASU Tempe. He became Art Director at Glendale Community College and retired in 1979. Bill’s style is classic Renaissance and Baroque applied to the American West in a way few artists have done before. Each painting begins with an egg tempera foundation, upon which he builds his lights and darks. He adds layers of oils on top, creating a glow to each piece. Bill is collected around the world. He won Best of Show by Western Artists of America 2003, Best of Show in both painting and drawing by Western Artists Museum of America in 2005, and has pieces in the Booth Western Art Museum, Scottsdale Western Spirit Museum, Presidio Museum, and Museum of the Pacific Northwest. Home and Garden Magazine named him “Master of the Southwest” in 2002 and 2024, and he has featured in National Geographic.