Carolyn Whittaker at work
There is a peculiar and rewarding sense of achievement when the shadows fall just right and the doorway becomes enchanted
Encouraged to do art at O level, Art and Design at college and visual information at Polytechnic, I then took a diverse path and entered into sales. Fortunately in 1994 I returned to some kind of sanity and attended University as a mature student studying Geography and History and consequently I stumbled into teaching and happily into art again.
Over the last three years I have been teaching Art within County Durham to small groups of young people. Helping them to discover their individual creativity led me to explore and unleash my own. This path has enabled me to experiment with a huge host of media and to develop my current fascination with ink.
I work from home in glorious Beamish. Surrounded by beech woods and silver birch coppices, stone buildings and lovely people. Moving here unlocked a new sensitivity and eye for detail. I lose myself in the interesting places I try to capture. I love the temporary fluidity of ink and water on paper and the sudden permanence as the pigment fixes.
I hope that the onlooker will attain the same sense of reality that I strive to grasp; that they can reach out and feel the heat of the metal door knob warmed in the sun. That the thunderous clouds are certain to bring rain and that autumn fall beech leaves will crunch underfoot. Although some might say I have an obsession with doors, I have no overall plan or sequence for my paintings, I just enjoying painting interesting places and things.
First Frost: ink on 1ft high MDF panel
Frosting. Triptych ink on 3 foot MDF panels.
The Gathering. Ink on paper 1ft square.
Washington Arts Centre: February 2004
Gibside Tea Rooms: March 2004
Lamplight Arts Centre, Stanley: September 2004
Gibside Tea Rooms: October 2004
Online Galleries:
www.minigallery.co.uk/Carolyn_Whittaker
saa.co.uk/art/carolyn
Prices range from £60 to £200
Commissions Available on request
Workshops I have slots available for extra tuition, evening classes, artist's residencies and workshops for aspiring artists of all ages. Please contact me for dates, cost and venue.
Carolyn Whittaker BA Hons
10 Woodside, Beamish,
County Durham DH9 0QY
Mobile 079 3075 5601
Email:
All works are copyright © Carolyn Whittaker and may not be reproduced without permission.
Last update: 20th February 2005
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