All
images are © Stephen B Whatley unless otherwise indicated and may not
be reproduced without the express permission of the artist or copyright holder
Stephen's
work is in numerous private collections in Denmark, England, Germany, Ireland,
Japan, Scotland, Spain, South Africa and the U.S.A. It can also be found in
notable public collections, including the BBC, Historic Royal Palaces, the London
Transport Museum, The Royal Collection and Taylor Woodrow Property Company Ltd.
Stephen B Whatley was born in London in 1965. He studied at the Ipswich and Norwich
Schools of Art and at the University of London. Stephen is a professional artist
specialising in oil painting.
Stephen
has exhibited in numerous group exhibitions since 1983, most notably in London
at the Mall Galleries, the ICA (Institute of Contemporary Art) and the Lloyds
Building. Stephen has also had regular solo exhibitions since 1988, a highlight
of which was his 1993 exhibition "Hollywood Gold" at the Royal National
Theatre.
Stephen's
subjects include landscapes, cityscapes, still-life and portraits. Since 1992,
he has been celebrating architectural landmarks in London, in their anniversary
years, with a series of paintings made on location in the capital. These include;
Bush House - home of the BBC World Service, BBC Broadcasting House, BBC Television
Centre and the Tate Gallery and Tower Bridge in their centenary years.
In
1999, London Transport commissioned Stephen to paint an interior - 'The Grand
Staircase' - painted on location inside Buckingham Palace, for reproduction
on posters, displayed all over the London Underground. In the same year, The
Royal Collection commissioned him to paint an exterior view of Buckingham Palace,
made on location from the edge of Green Park, for reproduction in advertisements
promoting the Annual Summer Opening of the State Rooms in 1999 and 2000.
In
2000 Stephen was commissioned by Historic Royal Palaces and the Pool of London
Partnership, to undertake a series of 30 paintings for HM Tower of London. Many
of the works were painted on location in and around the Tower, whilst others
were inspired by various historical images. In the spring of 2001 the paintings
were reproduced on steel vitreous enamel panels lining the walls of the Tower
Hill pedestrian underpass, connecting Tower Hill Underground station to the
Tower of London.
Stephen's
portrait sitters include:
presenter
& broadcaster, Valerie Singleton OBE; presenter & actress Sarah Greene;
singer & actress Helen Reddy; actresses Margaret Courtnay, Dame Judi Dench,
Susan Hampshire OBE, Maria McErlane, Virginia McKenna, Lana Morris, Siân
Phillips CBE, Nyree Dawn Porter OBE, Alison Steadman OBE, Julie Walters OBE,
Finty Williams, Barbara Windsor MBE; actors, Barry Foster, Alec McCowen CBE
and Sir Ian McKellen; casting director Paul de Freitas; comedienne & writer
Jo Brand; actor,comedian & singer Brian Conley; Veuve Cliquot Businesswoman
of the Year, Patsy Bloom; financial advisor, Ivan Massow; fashion designer,
Matthew Williamson; dental surgeon, Cheong F. Ng BDS; veteran polititians, Tony
Benn MP and Baroness Castle of Blackburn; solicitor, Angus Hamilton; recorder
of the Crown Court, Sir Graham Eyre QC and barristers, Christina Gorna and Michael
Mansfield QC.
Stephens
paintings have been the subject of features in The Artist Magazine, The Guardian,
Guardian Weekend Magazine, HELLO! Magazine, Metro London Newspaper, The Sunday
Express, the Daily Telegraph, The New York Times, The Times Newspaper and USA
Today. He has also discussed his work on BBC Greater London Radio (GLR), LBC
Radio and BBC Radio Suffolk.
In
2001, BBC Heritage commissioned Stephen to paint a view of the Radio Theatre
inside Broadcasting House and to paint a view of the Top of the Pops Studio,
at BBC Television Centre, during rehearsals and recording of the programme.
In
2002, Stephen's painting of BuckinghamPalace, in the Royal Collection, was reproduced
on the programmes for HM Queen's twoGolden Jubilee concerts, held in the gardens
of Buckingham Palace.
In 2006, one of
Stephen's tributes to Marilyn Monroe was published in a new book, 'Marilyn
In Art' by Roger G Taylor (Pop Art Books), to coincide with the 80th anniversary
of the Hollywood star's birth.
In 2007, Stephen's
work promoted London's Tower Music Festival at the Tower Of London. His exhibition
' Hollywood Icons to Royal Gems' also opened at the Arndean Gallery in London's
Cork Street; exhibiting two Royal exclusives, one of his paintings, the 'Crown
Jewels II', on loan from HM Tower of London & 'Buckingham Palace: View
From The East Front', on loan by gracious permission of Her Majesty The Queen.000
Click here to see photos of the
exhibition.
In
2004, Stephen was invited to the ceremonial re-opening of Tower Hill (which
included the Tower Hill underpass) and was presented to HM The Queen and HRH
The Duke of Edinburgh in the Tower of London.
In
December 2008 TIME magazine selected his portrait tribute of Barack Obama from
100,000 images on the photography site Flickr.com for publication; and the January
2009 MAJESTY magazine has a major feature on Stephen’s Royal paintings.
