LD White, PSA
	I started oil painting as a child, taking lessons from Isabel Hepler for several years.  Veering away from visual arts, I pursued  science degrees from George Mason University and UNC-CH.  With my return to painting, I am now a seasoned artist, balancing my passion for art with my passion for environmental work.  Having painted exclusively in oils in the past, I now use both soft and oil pastels in my work, savoring the vibrant colors and immediacy of those media.  Impressionism is the art movement that most deeply resonates within me. It is a point of departure for my work, which is basically representational.  In addition to the Impressionists, my influences are the Ashcan School, Schmid, Sorolla, Sargent, and Hopper.  Plein air painters Scott Christensen, Matt Smith, Ralph Oberg, Albert Handell, and Clyde Aspevig are strong influences on my outdoor painting.      Recent series, in both oil and pastel, include: TREES - focusing on the wonder of trees and their survival.  Canadian artist Robert Genn has very eloquently written about trees:  "More than anything trees are metaphors.  Firmly rooted, genuinely patient and content, willing to undergo insult and humiliation, they also open themselves to all manner of creatures and make a home for many.  These oldest of living beings have nobility in every leaf.  They bring warmth to the northern cabin and shade to the southern traveler.  Daily, they do the breathing for our increasingly fragile planet . . . to honour trees is to grasp life. " PORTO - an exciting current series, which experiments with compositions of port wines and the foods that complement them.  There is no social message or commentary - just an expression of my appreciation for the creature comforts of good wine, cheese, and chocolate.      I show in two galleries in Raleigh, Local Color in Glenwood South and Visual Art Exchange in City Market.  I also show regularly with the Durham Art Guild and the Pastel Society of North Carolina.  My work is collected by individual clients and corporations.  Additionally, I am very active in donating my artwork for fund raising efforts. It is a truly wonderful feeling to have the joy of creating a painiting, to have an audience embrace and buy the work, and to have the purchase price benefit a worthy organization.  What a great way to give back to our community and I feel privileged to be able to do it. Juried Group Shows: Visual Art Exchange, N.E.W. Show, September, 2007, MERIT AWARD Pastel Society of North Carolina, Juried National Show, January, 2007 Raleigh Fine Arts Society Twenty-Ninth Annual Artist Exhibition, March - April, 2007 Raleigh Fine Arts Society Twenty-Eighth Annual Artist Exhibition, March - April, 2006 Women's Center's through women's eyes, by women's hands, Chapel Hill, Feb, 2006 Visual Art Exchange, Raleigh, Dec 2005, JUROR'S PICK - REPRESENTATIONAL Visual Art Exchange, Raleigh, Nov 2005, SECOND PLACE Visual Art Exchange, Raleigh, May 2005, FIRST PLACE Exploris, Raleigh - April, 2005 ArtsCenter, Carrboro -  2005 - JUROR'S CHOICE AWARD Exhibit 20, Raleigh, January and February, 2005 Durham Art Guild - November, 2004 Contemporary Art Museum, Raleigh - June, 2004 Women's Center's through women's eyes, by women's hands, Chapel Hill - Feb, 2004 Visual Art Exchange, Raleigh - November, 2003 HONORABLE MENTION Visual Art Exchange, Raleigh - July and August, 2003 Sertoma Arts Center, Raleigh July, 2003 Grace Li Wang Gallery, Raleigh - February, 2003 Solo Shows: Allenton Gallery of Durham Arts Council - June - July, 2007 Orange County Historical Museum - September, 2006 Woman's Club of Raleigh - March, 2005 Capital City Club, Raleigh - January - March, 2003 Two-person Show: Chapel Hill Public Library - February, 2004 Local Color - August, 2007 Education: BS - George Mason University Ph.D. - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Art Instruction:  Isabel Hepler, Christine MacLellan, L. Diane Johnson, Luana Luconi Winner, Caroline Jasper, Sean Dye, Anita Louise West, Albert Handell, Chad Hughes, Timothy Tyler, Bob Rohm Arts Organizations: Oil Painters of America (www.oilpaintersofamerica.com), associate member Pastel Society of America (www.pastelsocietyofamerica.org), signature member Pastel Society of North Carolina (www.pastelsocietyofnc.com), vice-president Visual Art Exchange