Most Popular Books by Mary Whyte

Dynamic artistry celebrating the diverse lives and labors of hardscrabble Southerners In Working South, renowned watercolorist Mary Whyte captures in exquisite detail the essence of vanishing blue-collar professions from across ten states in the American South with sensitivity and reverence for her subjects. From the textile mill worker and tobacco farmer to the sponge diver and elevator operator, Whyte has sought out some of the last remnants of rural and industrial workforces declining or altogether lost through changes in our economy, environment, technology, and fashion. She shows us a shoeshine man, a hat maker, an oysterman, a shrimper, a ferryman, a funeral band, and others to document that these workers existed and in a bygone era were once ubiquitous across the region. "When a person works with little audience and few accolades, a truer portrait of character is revealed," explains Whyte in her introduction. As a genre painter with skills and intuition honed through years of practice and toil, she shares much in common with the dedication and character of her subjects. Her vibrant paintings are populated by men and women, young and old, black and white to document the range Southerners whose everyday labors go unheralded while keeping the South in business. By rendering these workers amid scenes of their rough-hewn lives, Whyte shares stories of the grace, strength, and dignity exemplified in these images of fading southern ways of life and livelihood. Working South includes a foreword by Martha Severens, curator of the Greenville County Museum of Art in Greenville, South Carolina.

Artist Mary Whyte has learned many lessons over the years--lessons about art and, perhaps more important to her, lessons about life. In this book, she uses specific illustrations from her training, her teaching, her travels and her mentors to show the reader how to see and how to appreciate the artist''s experience. Referring to numerous color and black and white examples, she explains what her intentions and feelings were during the composition and completion of many of her favorite works. The techniques of watercolor painting can be learned. Skill, according to Mary, is never enough. One must learn to feel as well as to see in order to become a complete artist and a complete person. Her paintings are beautiful; so is her soul.

The path to discovering and developing the artist within During her fifty years as an artist and teacher, Mary Whyte has discovered that tapping our personal well of creativity and passion is the most important lesson—much more so than how to paint an eye, clouds, or steam. In An Artist''s Life, Whyte guides art makers and art lovers past stifling obstacles and self-doubts to see the world with fresh eyes and create their most original and expressive work. A touchstone for developing the habits we need to live our most creative, inspired, and meaningful life, this is a transformative lifelong art lesson that artists of all kinds, as well as non-artists seeking a more creative and fulfilling life, will return to again and again. The book includes seventy of Whyte''s acclaimed portraits and new, never-before-seen works.

We the people—these words embody the ethos of what it means to be an American citizen. As individuals we are a tapestry of colors and creeds; united we are a nation committed to preserving our hard-earned freedom. In this heart-stirring collection of watercolor portraits of military veterans—one from each of the fifty states—artist Mary Whyte captures this ethos as well as the dedication, responsibility, and courage it takes to fulfill that promise. Those who raise their hands to serve may join for different reasons, but all—along with their families—make the extraordinary commitment to place the needs of the country before their own. Whyte gives us the opportunity to meet and to see some of them—to really see them. Whyte''s portrait of America includes individuals from many walks of life, some still active duty, and from every branch: women and men, old and young, and from a wide swath of ethnicities, befitting our glorious melting pot. From a mayor to an astronaut, from a teacher to a garbage collector, from a business entrepreneur to someone who is homeless, Whyte renders their unique and exceptional lives with great care and gentle brush strokes. We the People is not only a tour across and through these vast United States, it is a tour through the heart and soul, the duty and the commitment of the people who protect not only our Constitution and our country but our very lives. We can only be deeply grateful, inspired, and humbled by all of them.

Artist Mary Whyte''s Down Bohicket Road includes two decades worth of watercolors—depicting a select group of Gullah women of Johns Island, South Carolina, and their stories. In 1991, following Whyte''s recovery from a year of treatment for cancer, she and her husband moved to a small sea island near Charleston, seeking a new home where they could reinvent themselves far removed from the hectic pace of Philadelphia. In this remote corner of the South, Whyte first met Alfreda LaBoard and her devoted group of seniors who gathered weekly to make quilts, study the Bible, and socialize in a small rural church on Bohicket Road. Descendants of lowcountry slaves, these longtime residents of the island influenced Whyte''s life and art in astonishing and unexpected ways. Whyte soon began a series of watercolors depicting these women, honoring their lives and their dedication to family and faith. As her friendships with these women grew, their matriarch Alfreda LaBoard claimed Whyte as her "vanilla sister." Alfreda''s World, a collection of Whyte''s detailed watercolors and poignant recollections of the women at the senior center, was published a decade later, drawing attention and support from the community to the small church on Bohicket Road. Down Bohicket Road continues the story of Whyte''s relationship with these extraordinary women, following the passing of Alfreda, against the backdrop of the ongoing commercial development of Johns Island. For Whyte, the heart of this community remains in the simple homes clustered along Bohicket Road, in the island''s winding tidal creeks, and in a small church where eighteen hardscrabble women gather in fellowship each week. In her book Whyte illustrates that both watercolors and friendships can be the unpredictable results of an abundance of blessings. As shared through touching words and vibrant paintings, Down Bohicket Road celebrates a unique way of coastal life and a remarkable friendship that transcends all barriers—even death itself—in praise of the unifying power of art. All royalties from the sale of this book benefit the Hebron Saint Francis Senior Center on Johns Island.

Using clear and concise language and in-depth, step-by-step demonstrations, author and renowned artist Mary Whyte guides beginning and intermediate watercolorists through the entire painting process, from selecting materials to fundamental techniques to working with models. Going beyond the practical application of techniques, Whyte helps new artists learn to capture not just the model''s physical likeness, but their unique personality and spirit. Richly illustrated, the book features Mary Whyte''s vibrant empathetic watercolors and works by such masters of watercolor as Mary Cassatt, Thomas Eakins, Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, and Georgia O''Keeffe.

Discusses materials, fundamentals, getting started, still life, landscape, and figures and portraits

Descendants of slaves, an extraordinary group of African American women welcomed Whyte to their community, and changed her life and paintings in many ways. This book chronicles in dialogue and images the evolution of a friendship beween the artist and Alfreda, who became the subject of many of Whyte''s paintings.