Emma Whitelock
Emma studied Art alongside English Literature at the University of York St John. Graduating with a First Class Honours degree and the University's Humanities Prize, she was awarded a British Academy Scholarship to undertake an interdisciplinary MA by Research in English with History of Art at the University of York. Her interest in literature complements the poetic nature of her painting.
Depicting evocative land and seascapes, Emma's work often incorporates a lone female figure as a tiny symbol amidst the expansiveness of nature. Seeking to create an emotional connection, the elemental acts as a foil to human experiences of memory and solitude. Emma's expressive style mixes semi-abstraction with a keen interest in composition; amorphous horizons leading the viewer on a journey. Close up, textures and marks create an abstract surface area, stand back and the whole melds into a space you feel you could step into. Her use of colour is both dramatic and ethereal, giving the works an atmosphere of being poised on the borderline between day and night. They are charged moments, filled with remembrances past and possibilities for the future.
‘I frequently take inspiration from the wild skies of my native Yorkshire, but also spend time in Cornwall with it's different light and colours bringing variety to my palette. Texture is integral to my work and I enjoy freely evolving this through the layering of materials. I paint primarily in acrylic, but combine this with a variety of other media such as heavy gesso, mediums, glazes and inks. This provides richness and depth. I enjoy the process of developing areas as they emerge, rubbing back and building up, scratching into the surface and working with various implements as well as brushes to create diversity in my mark-making.’
