According to a press release, Whiting is the newest member of the Martha’s Vineyard Art Association (MVAA), whose members exhibit their works at the Dock Street Gallery. Whiting’s work will hang through Friday, Sept. 25.
Whiting, a Vineyard native, said he’s glad to be a member of the “OSG.” His work has been shown around the country and Europe and now he says, “I like having a presence in Edgartown. The right friend asked me to apply at the right time. Love the building. And I’m remembering seeing, as a young artist in Providence, works by Vaclav Vytlacil.” Vytlacil is one of the founding members of MVAA.
Whiting operates his own gallery with his wife, Lynne, at the Davis House in West Tisbury. He has said that he was inspired by his grandfather, a professional illustrator and master painter during the time of N.C. Wyeth and Norman Rockwell. Taken ill during the war, Whiting’s grandfather died young but not before quitting illustration and coming to the Vineyard to paint landscapes. Whiting was also influenced by beloved Island artist Stanley Murphy.
At age eight, Whiting took his first watercolor class, and by his mid-twenties, he’d decided to become an artist. He exhibited his first oil paintings at the Field Gallery 50 years ago.
Whiting and his wife also run a sheep farm, which often serves as a subject of his works. Asked how he manages his time to paint, Whiting said, “I split my life between farm and family. Routine is not set. I go with the flow. First thing in the morning, I go to the studio. Then tend to the animals. Come back. Paint some more … you find the time. All I want to do is paint.”
Masks are required at the Old Sculpin Gallery. The Allen Whiting art show can also be seen and paintings purchased online at oldsculpingallery.org.