Emma Whitelock

British contemporary artist
Original acrylic and mixed media paintings
(b.1973) York, England

Romantic and powerfully ethereal, the work of contemporary York artist Emma Whitelock dramatically explores the emotional connection between landscape, memory and viewer. Depicting evocative land and seascapes using various mixed media techniques with an emphasis on mood, Emma’s paintings demonstrate her considered, contemporary approach to Romanticism. Her work and the totem-like figures often woven within are as timeless as the land, sea and sky, merging the inner and outer world and allowing each viewer to reflect their own personal narrative.

Taking a keen interest in both art and literature, 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. Ever influencing her practice, it is this literary interest that has become so deeply ingrained within her work, harmoniously complementing the poetic nature of her paintings.

Emma's expressive style mixes semi-abstraction with a keen interest in composition; amorphous horizons leading the viewer on a journey. Close up, marks and textures create an abstract surface area, while at a distance, a calling, tangible space appears. Her use of colour is both dramatic and ethereal, poising the atmosphere of her paintings on the borderline between day and night. She also often incorporates a lone female figure as a tiny symbol amidst the expansiveness of nature. Seeking to create an emotional connection, the elements act as a foil to human experiences of memory and solitude. The resulting paintings are charged moments, filled with remembrances past and possibilities for the future.

To create her expressive and atmospheric paintings, Emma uses acrylic with mixed media, often taking inspiration from her native Yorkshire or Cornwall. Her work evolves intuitively, through the building of layers. Though she paints primarily in acrylic, she combines this with a variety of other media such as mediums, glazes and ink to provide richness and depth. She enjoys the process of developing areas as they emerge, rubbing back and building up textures, scratching into the surface and working with various implements to create diversity in her mark-making.

Emma’s career has thrived over the years, and she continues to be considered both a much-loved and collectible artist both domestically and abroad. In 2019, she was awarded the Inspired By Gallery Supporters Prize at the inaugural North York Moors Art Awards. Ever expanding her collector base, her work has been exhibited in London, New York and Singapore and continues to be admired by contemporary collectors around the world enamoured of her emotive, semi-abstract style.