Growing up along the shore of Lake Michigan and wandering the woods and fields of his native Wisconsin gave Bill Gallen an early appreciation for the wonders of the natural world. Gallen graduated from the University of Wisconsin having studied German and History and spent a year abroad at the University of Freiburg in Germany. Plans to pursue an academic career gave way when he moved to Colorado with his brother Tom, following the call of a boyhood interest in the Rocky Mountains. Nurturing a lifelong interest in art, Gallen studied painting and drawing in his free time. A fortuitous encounter with the landscape painter Dave Ballew lead him to a lineage of teachers extending back to Bettina Steinke. Galen’s direct teachers were primarily Ned Jacob, Michael J Lynch and David Ballew.  Gallens’ paintings are included in collections across the country. Gallen is a Master Signature Member of the Plein Air Painters of New Mexico and has been included in shows around the country, including the California Art Club’s Gold Medal Exhibition, the Mountain Oyster Club, the Crested Butte Plein Air Invitational, the Salon International, OIl Painters of America and other nationally recognized shows. Gallen lives in Santa Fe with his life partner, the artist, Cecilia Robertson.

A lineage of Teachers        

Bettina Steinke 1913 - 1999             

Ned Jacob 1938 - 2025

Michael J Lynch  1949 -

Dave Ballew  1954 -

Dave Ballew                                                           Mike Lynch                                                                  Bill Gallen