Artist Statement
The passage of time, transitions in nature, and shifting patterns of life as well as the effects of urbanization and technology on traditional, rural lifestyles have been recurrent themes in the creative work of visual artist Brenda Whiteway. Her current project, Shifting Sands / Sea Change, is a further exploration of these themes through paintings, drawings and mixed-media of a small coastal area in southeastern PEI that has personal significance for the artist but also resonates on a universal scale. Brenda has been observing, recording and researching the weather patterns, light, tidal shifts, flora and fauna, history, and cultural ecology within the area. For her, this is a metaphoric petri dish through which cultural and climatic shifts may be viewed on an intimate scale and expressed creatively. This artwork attempts to capture the genius loci of an area the artist holds dear.
Biography
Brenda Whiteway is a visual artist specializing in painting who lives and works on Epekwith (Prince Edward Island). She received a BFA from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, and has exhibited in numerous group and solo shows, with her most recent solo exhibit being Botanicals, a series of paintings of Island flora, at Ravenwood House (former home of Island Nature Trust). Brenda’s work is in many private and public collections, including Transport Canada, the Art Bank of the Canada Council, Prince Edward Island Art Bank, the permanent collection of the Confederation Centre Art Gallery, and the City of Charlottetown.
