Meet Pamela Patrick White

Today we’d like to introduce you to Pamela Patrick White.

Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
My career as an artist is two part. One I planned for, the other a complete surprise. As a child, I loved the pictures found in books and also loved to draw, so it was no surprise when I became a book illustrator. Working for Doubleday Dell, Simon and Schuster and other New York publishers, I created covers for mystery novels, new novels, and young adult books.

Later in my career, I illustrated a few children’s books and young adult series- my favorite being all 12 covers of “The Black Stallion.” Computer generated illustration began to edge into the market around the time I started to change not only my medium, from pastel to oils but also my goals. After 18 years of illustration, I had decided to become a historic painter which would lead to experiences I never could have foreseen.

Please tell us about your art.
My hobby, my involvement in 18th Century reenacting, set my course into historic painting. I learned by taking the field as a fifer in both French and Indian War and Revolutionary War reenactments. I was part of the music that led men into battle in all types of weather, I read historic accounts of unknown heroes and began sewing clothing following 18th-century patterns. I found myself immersed in American history rarely taught to our children. The more I did, the more I could “see” the need for paintings of these people, places, and events. So, I began to paint them.

By 2001, I was painting history full time. My first battle scene was the Battle of Camden for the 225th Anniversary of the Revolutionary War. I was still pretty new at setting up large-scale scenes like this, but I had plenty of reenactors to help and model for this and many other paintings. My knowledge of what is correct and what is not helps keep things authentic in the painting.

A series on Fredericksburg, VA, history included my first George Washington paintings. Ten artists each painted ten paintings for this collection, which is now owned by Mary Washington College. By 2005, my husband Bryant had joined me as a historical painter and together we created our company, White Historic Art, with each of us taking on commissions that preserved people and places in history.

When the 218th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade contacted me to paint their unit history, we took a road trip to Charleston SC where two Humvees and a group of soldiers waited for us. We all rode out to a training area and spent the day placing men and vehicles for a photo shoot to resemble a skirmish during the War in Afghanistan. A few of the men with us that day had recently returned from Afghanistan and this became a very special painting to me. It now hangs in The Citadel.

A British fundraiser for the preservation of the Hougemont Farm, the center piece in the Battle of Waterloo, was sent in my direction and after meeting decided that I would do four paintings on the Battle of Waterloo for them. In the spring of 2011, my husband and I flew to Belgium for research on La HayeSainte, the farm I would be painting and a photo shoot with reenactors portraying the French unit that fought there the3rd EME. We returned to this incredible place in 2014 to shoot models for the next two paintings, this time meeting up with German reenactors who portrayed the Kings German Legion. Kit out as French soldiers, we were able to wander the battlefield before the Waterloo reenactment and get a good sense of what happened there.

By 2015, funds from the sale of my and four European artists prints helped finance repairs to the Hougemont Farm for the Anniversary of Waterloo. The present chapter of my work started right after Waterloo when Mount Vernon contacted me to create a painting of Washington and Rochambeau. They wanted to show the unfinished interior of Mount Vernon’s wing addition during Washington’s only visit home during the Revolutionary War, so with some old architectural plans, models and good light at a friend’s house I created Planning for Victory.

I didn’t realize at the time of the painting’s unveiling that I would continue painting George Washington, this time for private collectors, or that these images would start a body of work White Historic Art would be able to share with educators around the country. The stories of the men and women of the Eighteenth Century continue to intrigue me and hopefully stir the curiosity of people that see my paintings into learning more about our country’s origins.

Given everything that is going on in the world today, do you think the role of artists has changed? How do local, national or international events and issues affect your art?
Our society has all but stopped teaching art in schools and the lack of knowledge of people viewing art underscores this. Art does matter. It reflects the present, remembers the past and dreams about the future. Art makes us see things in a different way, helping society to correct itself when change is needed.

How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
The best place to see what I am working on is Facebook for day to day updates, and on our website to order from our collection of giclee canvas prints plus a selection of original oils for sale. Our website also lists the shows where you can visit us in person. I like people to know that every print or original purchased allows us to create more artwork to add to our collection of art for educational use by schools, learning institutions, and non-profit groups.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.whitehistoricart.com
• Phone: 814-652-6120
• Email: whitehistoricart@comcast.net
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Pamela-Patrick-White-Historic-Art-107334558539/?fb_dtsg_ag=Adw-j_9eVM0N-7MBU60RDX_qKv64tGHLme3pyD0IfVgCDg%3AAdyTb6FZzy7P3vt4gRi6uUqB_D0tthemUik8mjIzFhYg6A

Image Credit:
Pamela Patrick White

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