Allen Whiting Celebrates at Featherstone

Allen Whiting's landscapes can be as familiar as the view out of your Island bedroom window. He has a powerful talent of being able to capture the essence of what he sees and translate that into a painting that can take your breath away. Not just because of the beauty of the painting, but because it gives you that same feeling that you get when you are standing at the edge of the field or stormy beach that is so special to you.

This past Sunday, Whiting opened a 40-year retrospective of his work at . This is the first time he has not had his traditional opening at his in West Tisbury, it is also the first time that much of the work has ever been seen publicly.

"I've gotten to really like Featherstone," said Whiting, who participates in Anne Gallagher's Tom Maley Life Drawing Group on Tuesday morning's at Featherstone. Doing the show at the Davis House had just become too cumbersome an event for the entire family, Whiting explained. "And then Nancy Kingsley asked me if I would do the show at Featherstone as part of their 15th anniversary, so it just sort of worked out."

Figure sketches are just some of what will be on display in the show that runs through July 21. For the most part, the show consists of pieces solely from the artist's private collection and includes a number of found-object sculptures that are a strong departure from the work we're accustomed to, but something that Whiting has always "played around with. You know, I like the idea of taking two different objects and putting them together to make a third meaning," he said.

There are also a few portraits in the show, including two self-portraits of the artist from many years ago and a nude drawing of his wife, Lynne, then pregnant with their daughter Bea who is now 31.

Whiting's artist roots run back to the grandfather he never met who was an illustrator and whose few remaining works, of fishermen in Menemsha and geese in chevron flight, served as inspiration for the young painter. "My grandmother always said that an illustrator makes money and an artist just goes in an attic and dies . . . then she gave me an attic," he said. But the work on display at Featherstone shows that Whiting has done a lot since—"probably a hundred paintings a year," he estimates.

For those who love Whiting's plein air landscapes, the show has quite a few of those, as well. "I've always loved the four to six object painting," he said. "I remember being 10 years old and being down at Quenames. I was supposed to be working, but I was totally distracted by the way these three trees disappeared as they get closer to the beach. And there was a purple light behind them that just fascinated me."

There are a few oils and drawings for sale, as well as books and posters. But that's it. "Many of those pieces didn't even have titles before this show," said Whiting, laughing. "I had to come up with a lot of those names just last week."

In total there are close to 40 pieces of art that just barely scratch the surface of what Whiting has done over the same number of years. "I went to Featherstone every week and every time I'd change my mind about a piece or add another one on."

When asked what it means to have 40 years of work behind him, the peace and satisfaction shows. "I tell you, I just feel really blessed, you know? I mean, we all want to be the chosen one and I guess I get to have a turn for a while."