David Whitlam
David was born in the UK in November 1977. From and early age he showed a flair for drawing and signs of a vivid imagination. He went on to study graphic art at Leeds Metropolitan University, where he developed a keen interest in the surrealist movement and the workings of the unconscious. Most of his work at this time took the form of creative writing, mixing ‘automatic’ stream of consciousness techniques with cut-ups and other chance methods. It was also during his time as a student that he first began experimenting with digital art. David Whitlam’s work appears on the cover of ‘The Stairs to the Attic’ audio book and the inside cover of ‘The Half Dream’ audio book.
By 2002 he had abandoned creative writing in favour of automatic drawing and digital art.
In early 2005 he began painting canvases in oils for the first time. The same year he became a member of the Vernon Mill Artists in Stockport – one of the largest studio-based art groups in the UK. Not only did this bring much needed studio space for his ever expanding portfolio, it also provided a platform to exhibit his work publicly. David’s paintings have been exhibited in venues around Stockport and Manchester and have sold to collectors around the world.
Martin Greaves/Steven Calcutt/dinosaurmuseum
dinosaurmuseum is a club for fixated illustrators. We can become obsessed with a minute spatter of ink accidentally exploding off a trouser leg. See that gritty bit of scrawl at the base of a drawn flower? That's sublime, that is. How about that patina of brown created by a faulty print head? Pure Heaven.
Yes, it's very sad, we are the first to appreciate that, but that's how much we love illustration. For us happy few the 2D image retains a power that cannot be matched by any other artform. A great illustration is pure idea distilled down to its essence and placed on the surface of the paper. Good illustration should go beyond just the visual and endeavour to give credence to the original source of its creation (phew). In short, great illustration should blow your socks off, make the short hairs stand on end, inspire you to think beyond yourself. We may not always get there, its a continual strive to make the image the best that it can be. But the efforts are worth it.
