An amateur photographer since 1975, Roy Whiddon also took up drawing and painting in the 1980s to balance a career in high-tech and consulting. Retirement has allowed Roy to devote more time to his artistic pursuits; for the past several years, he has concentrated on the figure, first through life drawing, and more recently through photography. Roy is currently focusing his artistic efforts on figure photography, although he still enjoys drawing and runs a life drawing studio for artists at the Nepean Visual Arts Centre. Roy finds that photographing the figure presents a unique combination of artistic, technical and interpersonal challenges which inspire his creativity. He also finds that drawing helps him to realize his photographic vision by providing an opportunity for detailed study of the human body and the way light reveals its form.
Roy is a member of the Foyer Gallery Artists Association (juried membership) and exhibits regularly in their gallery at the Nepean Sportsplex. He has also shown his work in a number of juried group exhibitions, including a solo exhibition at the Trinity Gallery of the Shenkman Centre in August, 2010. His artistic education includes courses at the School of Photographic Arts: Ottawa (SPAO), Ottawa School of Art, Algonquin College, Nepean Visual Arts Centre, Atelier Weller (classical drawing instruction) and Humber College.
Roy currently lives in Nepean with his wife, teenaged daughter, and two cats.
Examples of Roy's figure photography can be found on his web site: www.rwphotoart.com.
