Bill Owens was born in 1942 in Gila Bend, Arizona to a father who had been a cowboy throughout the early 1900's and a mother who was and is and artist. These early influences shaped his desire to be an artist and cultivated his interest in the cowboy lifestyle.

Bill has exhibited at the Whitney Museum in Cody. Wyoming, the Grand Palais Paris, France and at the Western Art Show in Beijing, China in 1991. Bill was voted into the National Academy of Western Artists, and in 1993 became a member and staff artist of Rancheros Visitadores at the same year he was awarded the Frederic Remington Award for Artistic Merit by the Cowboy Hall of fame. In 1996 the prestigious Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa Oklahoma honored Bill as their Rendezvous Artist. At the 2003 Prix de West Invitational Show, he became the first recipient of Express Ranches Great American Cowboy Award.

Inducted into the Cowboy Artists of America in 1973, Bill has earned a total of 27 medals and awards at the annual show. In 2003, his 30th year with CAA, and again in 2005, which was the 40th Anniversary year of CAA, Owen was extremely honored to receive a CA Award. This highly coveted award is decided by a vote of the CAA members for the best overall Exhibition, so these nods of approval from his peers are especially meaningful for him.

In 1989, while practicing for the rodeo, Bill survived a freak accident, which resulted in the loss of sight in his right eye. He does not consider this to be a handicap and has overcome the limitations caused by the loss of depth perception, successfully resuming sculpting in 2002

For all of Bill's artistic achievements he is especially proud of The Arizona Cowpuncher's Scholarship Organization, which he founded in 1995 and remains active in. The organization is committed to raising funds, helping to finance higher education for young people of Arizona ranching families following their high school graduation.

It's important to Bill that he creates his art by utilizing sound artistic qualities and is passionate that each piece be completely accurate and authentic in its portrayal. A self-taught artist, he has a thirst for knowledge that will never be quenched; he is incapable of allowing himself to be satisfied with his accomplishments and is constantly striving to learn more about composition, color and design. He thrives on challenges and each milestone energizes him, keeping each piece of art he sets out to create new, exciting and stimulating.

Bill and his wife, Valerie, live in Wickenburg, Arizona.