The Bear Roars- How to Create in Times of Disruption
In this episode of The Bear Roars, Dan sits down with Boulder artist Will Day, whose unlikely path from architecture to painting began in the middle of the 2008 financial collapse.
Will talks about losing his job, moving his family to Boulder, and slowly building an art practice from a basement with no roadmap and no guarantee it would work. He shares the early challenges—financial strain, uncertainty at home, and the pressure of trying to build a creative career while raising two young kids.
Dan and Will discuss how Boulder shaped his development as an artist, why Black Lab Studios became the right environment for his work, and what it means to create during times of disruption. Will breaks down his process of painting on raw canvas, working across multiple pieces at once, and allowing intuition rather than rigid planning to guide each piece.
The conversation also touches on Boulder’s evolving arts scene, the impact of events like the Sundance Film Festival and Boulder Roots Music Fest, and the role of community in helping local artists gain visibility.
How to Use Creativity as a Leader
Most leaders think of creativity as something exclusive to artists, but it’s actually a skill leaders can learn to master. Just like art, leadership requires taking risks, challenging assumptions, and building what doesn’t exist yet. If you’re ready to stop playing it safe and start making a real impact, it’s time to unleash your creative edge.
In this episode of the HAPPINESS SQUAD Podcast, Ashish Kothari and Will Day, Award-winning Abstract Painter-Artist, break down exactly how to turn creativity into your biggest leadership advantage.
10 Seconds to Air
When we think of communicating we usually think of the spoken word. But what about Art?
Art can express feelings and ideas that we can’t verbalize.
Contemplating a painting or sculpture, or attending a dance recital can make us feel happy or sad—or both at the same time. It can open our senses and bring us to places we don’t have words to express.
My guest today is American Artist Will Day, known for his large-scale paintings and bold strokes.
Will Day went from Wall Street to painter in pursuit of unbottling his curiosity and creative freedom. Following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, when Will's wife survived the collapse of the World Trade Towers, he decided to leave his career in finance. Listen to Will's philosophy on how to let go of expectations and discover your true calling.
Will Day | Letting Go of Expectations to Discover Your True Calling
In this BLDRfly episode, BLDRfly founder Paul Hagey speaks with Boulder artist Will Day, a trained architect who leapt into a painting career in 2008, a year after he moved to Boulder and found himself out of a job. He talks about the leap into creativity, the business model that supports his art career and the spirit that helped him find success in art.
Abstract art has a reputation for being difficult to talk about because it is so experiential and subjective. This doesn’t worry Day, who refuses to over analyze his own work and instead views it as fundamental storytelling. His paintings might come from a highly subjective place, but Day isn’t interested in objectivity to begin with. “I paint from things that happen in my day-to-day,” he says, looking to exemplify universal experiences by channeling his own inner workings.
William Day is an American painter known for his large-scale compositions of colorful shapes and energetic marks. Day can often be found in his Boulder, Colorado studio working on multiple pieces at the same time. His process leads him to create paintings in series, each focusing on different nuances of the human experience. His works are comprised of textures and complex layers demonstrating his interaction with a canvas. These series of paintings all nod to certain periods of Day’s life that bring years of intensity, joy, spirituality, conflict, and resolution to the canvas.
In this episode, Stephen talks with Will about his latest series titled Breakout which explores themes of reset and rebirth. This discussion includes topics such as: The impact of isolation, How to handle negative critique and living beyond fear.
Reset and Rebirth
Mastro Devin Hughes speaks about contemporary and historical interactions between music and the art world, featuring two creative entrepreneurs that are paving the way in their respective fields, Contemporary visual artist Will Day, and composer Jonathan Bingham. Jonathan discusses his formative inspirations, including the music of John Williams. Will Day's wife, Aimee, barely survived the 9/11 attacks in tower two and this profoundly affected him as he became an architect and then visual artist. Their stories will inspire you to find the artist within, discard your fears, follow your passion, and find your life purpose.
The podcast episode’s conception revolved around the “Quaternity” project that was created by Devin Patrick Hughes, Boulder Symphony, Jonathan Bingham, and Will Day.
Will started out his career with a 2-year stint in the Peace Corps after college. He then went on to a successful career in the financial industry on Wall Street. But something felt like it was missing. In 2001, he enrolled in the Masters of Architecture program at Pratt Institute and then went to work as an architect. But that also never felt right. He talks all about how he failed so many times on that traditional path because it just wasn't the right path for him.
Nina and Will discuss what made him transition from a typical day job to his current career as an artist, and how he and his family made ends meet during the early years. They talk about Will’s project with Peyton Manning, his transition into motivational speaking, the importance of believing in yourself and following your passion and more! Nina and Will discuss what made him transition from a typical day job to his current career as an artist, and how he and his family made ends meet during the early years. They talk about Will’s project with Peyton Manning, his transition into motivational speaking, the importance of believing in yourself and following your passion and more!
Will Day is a contemporary, abstract, fine artist who was recently commissioned by the Denver Broncos to paint an timeless, abstract representation of the career of Peyton Manning as the quarterback of the Broncos. The task was an emotional and artistic roller coaster and in my interview Will shares about that experience and how he has navigated his unconventional career path from finance in New York to architecture in Los Angeles and his ultimate passion as fine artist in Boulder, CO.
