ABOUT
Dawn Whitelaw is one of the artists in On Track Studios in Franklin, Tennessee. Painting Plein Air with colleagues in Plein Air Painters of the Southeast and The Chestnut Group adds a richness and honesty to her studio work.
Whitelaw is currently on the the board of the Portrait Society of America where she serves as vice-chair. She has also been featured as faculty for Plein Air South and the Plein Air Convention and Expo. In 2016, the American Impressionist Society elected her to Master status. Whitelaw was one of ten American women artists invited to exhibit in "Inspiring Figures" at the Butler Institute of American Art. She has a painting in the permanent collection of the Rahr-west Art Museum.
Artist's Statement
Education
Most of Whitelaw's formal instruction came from a long-term mentorship with New York painter, Everett Raymond Kinstler. She graduated from David Lipscomb University with a BA. After her graduation, she served as an adjunct teacher in the Art Department for over 30 years. She will tell you that she learned as much from the students as they learned from her.
Dawn is proud to be a product of the workshop system. Influential teachers include Charles Cox, Janice Barnes, Jim Pollard. Cedric Egeli, Scott Christensen, T. Allen Lawson, Quang Ho, and Larry Moore.
A tremendous part of her education continues to come from the people she teaches and mentors. A quote from Tennyson is a favorite and sums up her education. He said, "I am a part of all that I have met"
Select Awards and Exhibits
Best of Show. Portrait Society of America 2001
Avalon Award for Creative Excellence. David Lipscomb University 1997
Award of Excellence, OPA Eastern Regional Exhibition 2020
Second Place, Door County Plein Air Festival 2014 and 2015
First place quick paint, Olmsted Plein Air Festival 2016
Artists for the New Century exhibit Bennington Center for the Arts 2006
Masters Award of Excellence, AIS Small Works exhibition 2020 and 2017
Masters Award of Excellence, AIS National exhibition 2017
I paint in response to that thing that "catches my eye."I am looking for the moment when the light, atmosphere or viewpoint displays the commonplace in an uncommonly interesting way. I try to capture this moment on canvas. The process of painting, whether in the studio or plein air, is always exciting and challenging. As a painter, I am always a student eager to learn more about my craft so I can speak more eloquently in paint. My paintings, if nothing else, are an honest, emotional statement of what I see. Although my aesthetics are linked to the painters at the turn of the 19th century, I feel that I am a modern artist. What could be more modern than to paint in response to the world I live in?
Interview with Everett Raymond Kinstler and Richard Ormand for the Portrait Society of America.
Professional Organizaions
Portrait Society of America / www.portraitsociety.org
The Chestnut Group / www.chestnutgroup.org
American Impressionist Society / www.americanimpressionistsociety.org
Plein Air Painters of the Southeast / www.pap-se.com
Oil Painters of America. / www.oilpaintersofamerica.com
Artist's Fellowship / www.artistsfellowship.org