Will Whitehouse

Since our daughter, Zoe, was born in January 2020, I have been given new parameters within which to work artistically. My studio used to be in my shed and my main medium was oil. My studio is now, for the time being, located in the kitchen and “folds up” and out of reach while Zoe is on the prowl. I now work mainly in acrylic, collage and mixed media, and tend to work on a small scale.

Over the last few years my figurative paintings have gradually become more expressive and less representational, and now I have dropped the figure completely and my work is purely abstract. It’s challenging and exciting to see how different colors, shapes and textures work together. The decision to place one thing next to another instead of something else can move a work in an unexpected direction. Not knowing where a collage is going is what keeps it alive and interesting for me.

I used to find that I could only work relatively largely and couldn’t get excited by small works but my perspective has shifted. Small works bring an intimacy to the creative process and demand an intimacy with the viewer.

Studio Video