birth_place birth_date article_title name occupation
los angeles , california 1956 scott williams -lrb- artist -rrb-
 scott williams painter
scott williams -lrb- artist -rrb-

scott williams -lrb- born 1956 -rrb- is an american artist best known for paintings made using stencils .
he began working with stencils in the early 1980s , painting on walls , cars and the found paper and objects that accumulated in his studio .
he has painted many murals in san francisco and was dubbed by artist/writer aaron noble the stencil godfather of the mission , where stencil graffiti is common .
williams has painted numerous murals in san francisco , both indoors and out , including armadillo 's on fillmore street , amoeba records , clarion alley , leather tongue video , the chamelleon bar , dna lounge , burger joint , pedal revolution , and the lab .
the preponderance of his work in the mission and his ability to go back and forth from street to studio has led some people to see him as a forerunner of the mission school , which coalesced 10 years after he began working in the neighborhood .
working outside the mainstream , williams exhibited at alternative spaces throughout the 80s and 90s including show and tell gallery , altarpiece at the offensive , bibliomancy , the adobe bookstore and southern exposure -lrb- art space -rrb- | southern exposure -rsb- -rsb- .
as curatorial awareness of williams grew , he was invited to exhibit at yerba buena center for the arts , and the san francisco art institute .
williams was born in los angeles , california , and grew up in santa barbara .
he began painting with watercolor in high school , and studied art and anthropology at santa barbara city college , cabrillo college , and sonoma state university .
he moved to san francisco in 1979 and began to work in color xerox .
he lived at the goodman building , the last of san francisco 's artist hotels , and was present for its closing and evictions in 1983 .
the long battle between the goodman building 's tenants and the city , which owned it , ultimately led to passage of 1988 live/work legislation , which made it easier for artists to live in commercial zones .
in 1983 , williams moved to los angeles and collaborated with didier cremieux on a large painting called `` history of the world '' which was featured in immigre magazine .
in 1984 , he moved to santa barbara , continued painting and helped to run talk gallery .
by 1985 he was back in san francisco , where he developed a handmade comic series with the characters robot dog , cyber kitty , and mean mouse .
during the early 1990s , wiliams collaborated with the artist rigo on a series of large murals for the dna lounge , including one called the philip k. dick tribute mural .
in 1991 , williams was the subject of a documentary called `` spraypaint '' by nick gorski .
in 2005 , williams received the adeline kent award and was given a retrospective exhibit at the walter and mcbean galleries of the san francisco art institute .
in the late 1990s , health problems forced williams to abandon spray paint for airbrush and he began to focus on smaller paintings and books .
williams ' collaborative hand-painted books include `` gemstone fever '' -lrb- 2003 -rrb- , `` horses west '' -lrb- 2005 -rrb- `` amerika cup '' -lrb- 2006 -rrb- with fred rinne `` collect call from the spirit world '' -lrb- 2006 -rrb- and `` watch your step '' -lrb- 2007 -rrb- with fred rinne and dana smith .
in 2012 , the interior of williams ' mission district home was reproduced at steven wolf fine arts .
