Born in Virginia in 1956, William Hays began painting in watercolors as a teenager and had his first solo exhibition after moving to Anchorage, Alaska in 1980. In 1986 he added a Bachelor of Arts in sculpture (University of Alaska) to his Bachelor of Arts in Geography (from Virginia Tech). After moving to Vermont in 1987, he concentrated on painting in oils, doing landscapes and portraits. He began experiments in printmaking in 2007. Since 2012 Hays has concentrated exclusively on printmaking, working primarily with reduction linocuts and woodcuts. William now lives in western Massachusetts.