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Carole Whitehouse B.A. My Subject matter is urban, gravitating towards architecture old and new, the old buildings reflected in the new shiny skyscrapers sheathed in mirrored glass. This is an unlikely choice for someone who was born and bred on the East Coast of Scotland, but unlike the sea and sky, our cities also reflect colour and light, bouncing across metal and glass or indeed any shiny surface. I have made these elements form my paintings. Walking around the inner city of Birmingham, I use photography, sometimes cropping the image to reveal the abstract qualities and focusing on texture and movement, I use my fingers to mix and layer the paint onto canvas, preferring often to start with a dark base especially if the subject matter is that of the human form which takes on a distortion and elongation of mystical shadows. My chosen subject is vast, a recurring theme and yet each one of my paintings is different, a picture within a picture, constantly experimenting with paint, varnishes and mixed media to produce one off pieces of art. After completing my art degree in 1999, I have shown at mixed exhibitions selling my work privately and to large corporate companies where the paintings take pride of place in their boardrooms and reception areas. I have donated work to the Birmingham children’s charity, NCH, attending their charity evenings where successful silent auctions take place. My art is a response to the environment around me, but sometimes, subconsciously, somewhere from my childhood, I will introduce a small part of the East Coast of Scotland into my reflections. |