I am Ann Marie Whitton a Site Specific artist based in St Albans.
For many years I travelled around Britain creating drawings and paintings of places I had visited. But since lockdown my art has evolved to encompass the change in our climate, and my fascination with recycling materials.
The garden and local walks became the focus of my work.
Making collages was the start of my journey to reusing old drawings and paintings. My motif was to constantly draw the ‘shed’ which is my studio. Exploring printmaking, drawing with inks and painting in sketchbooks to record my work.
As I am at odds with the constant use of plastics, I decided to make my own natural inks and dyes from the plants in my garden, and from those I foraged in my local environment. I now have a big collection of bottles, which has become an installation in my shed.
This lead me to go on a year long art course with Newlyn School of Art, Cornwall. The time there has given me the chance to develop my thinking, and making of art further. As part of the course I exhibited at the Tremenheere Gallery showing my ‘House of Dreams’ Greenhouse Natural Ink Installation, a selection of my handmade ‘Copper Sheds’ and my Natural Ink painted Circles too.
I am keen to develop my work with the environment in mind. Taking opportunities to recycle and reuse materials I have at home. Not to buy materials online and buy them locally, so the impact of posting and delivering is reduced.
My next projects may be about making more natural materials. Such as pastels, natural pigments and paper. This I will explore at Brisons Veor, Cornwall where I have a residency for a week.
Filming the process is an important part of my art, and many of the short films I make are posted to my You Tube account https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_FZsDS9o1CEL23GMsqytQQ
You are welcome to chat to me during Open Studios or message me via my website www.annmariewhitton.co.uk or my blog www.annmariewhittonartist.co.uk/blog