Artist Statement
Natural phenomena and perceptions of their beauty are dominant themes of my artwork. I aim to portray the beauty that is revealed in forms from nature whose life or usefulness has presumably expired. I gather fallen leaves, flowers, moss, bark, lichen, seed pods, mushrooms, butterflies and moths, algae and seaweed on my walks in the woods and along the shore to weave into my mixed media art. Drawing, photography, painting, collage and stitching is incorporated with botanic eco-printing, a methodology using leaves and flora to create unpredictable and imperfect chemical imprints on fabric and paper. As humans, we are intrinsically drawn to common perceptions of beauty, like colorful flowers or a perfect, untarnished shell. But I am inspired by the intrinsic beauty of the detritus, flotsam, discarded, deteriorating and overlooked flora, fauna and fungi. These elements from my nature walks may no longer have life, but they are evidence of life, and they are beautiful. These processes align well with my instincts to forage, gather and collect forms in nature and portray them in unexpected ways in my artwork.
Bio
Bryant Whelan is an award-winning mixed-media artist living on the Southern coast of the United States in Fairhope, Alabama. Whelan received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Auburn University and has continued her studies in printmaking, collage and painting in professional workshops in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the Gulf Coast, and Scotland. Whelan is a member of Mississippi Art Colony, and is the former executive director of the Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Center in Ocean Springs as well as the Eastern Shore Art Center in Fairhope, Alabama. Whelan has received numerous awards for her work and teaches workshops along the Gulf Coast. Her fine art can be found in in private collections throughout the country.
Recent Exhibitions
Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, Juried 75 Year Mississippi Art Colony Retrospective Show, 2023
Shelby County Arts Council, Adult Juried Art Show, Columbiana, AL 2022
Eastern Shore Art Center, Fairhope, AL 2022
Central Arts Collective “Flights of Fancy” Juried Show, Mobile, AL 2021
Mississippi College Samual Gore Gallery, Dual Artist Show, Clinton, MS 2020
Eastern Shore Art Association Annual Juried Show, Fairhope, AL 2021,2020, 2018
Mobile Arts Council Member Show, Mobile, AL 2023, 2019
Mississippi Art Colony Juried Traveling Show, 2019, 2018
Eastern Shore Camera Club Member Show, Fairhope, AL 2018
The Cedars Annual Juried Show, Jackson, MS, 2017
The Art House Gallery, Ocean Springs MS, Exhibiting Artist 2012-2017
Artology Gallery, Mobile, AL , Exhibiting Artist 2013-2015
Awards
2024 Alabama Audubon Bird of the Year Official Artist
2022 2nd Place, Eastern Shore Camera Club
2019 William F. Pontious Award of Excellence in Mixed Media
2019 Best of Show / Artistic Achievement, MS Art Colony
2017 2nd Place Plein Air Competition, City of Gautier, MS
2017 People’s Choice Award, Singing River Art Association
2017 First Place / Mixed Media, Singing River Art Association
2016 First Place / / Acrylic, Ocean Springs Art Association
Judging
Mobile Watercolor and Graphic Arts Society Exhibition, 2018
International Miniature Society, 2018
First City Art Show, Pensacola, FL 2018
State of Mississippi Bicentennial Exhibition, 2017
Alabama Plein Air Artist Association, 2017
Art Study Club, Pensacola, 2017
Teaching Experience
2024 Relief Printmaking Workshop, Eastern Shore Art Center
2023 Ecoprinting Workshop, Eastern Shore Art Center
2021 Ecoprinting Workshop, Fairhope, Alabama
2014 Collage & Painting workshop, Artology Gallery, Mobile, AL
2014 Mixed Media workshop, Gulf Coast Art Assoc, MS
2014 Monoprint Collage Workshop, Pass Christian Art Assoc, MS
2014 Grumbacher Paints Official Instructor, acrylic painting
2002,2003 Art Instructor, Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile, AL
Contact
bryant.g.whelan@gmail.com
251-270-9406
@BryantWhelan
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