Whitney Gardner is an oil painter born and based in Southern California, with a focus in painting landscapes of the Southwest. Residing in the Mojave desert for the last fifteen years, a fascination with the rugged scenery has led her into an artful study of this region. From plein air studies to studio compositions, her paintings are an ode to the remarkable facets of the desert.
Whitney is attracted to the simplicity of the desert topography and seeks to carry this simplistic aesthetic through her work. The fleeting moments of light and color, moonrises, monsoon storms, and flora in bloom, is what excites her most as she strives to capture the ethereal aspects of life. In combining the vast environment of the desert with delicate, intimate moments in nature, Whitney presents a feminine quality to the harshness of the land she paints. With influences of artists who painted the western landscape, such as Maynard Dixion and Victor Higgins, both who developed a simplified and modern approach to their work, Whitney is also interested in making work that has a modern sensibility, while riding on the edges of traditional landscape painting.
While she considers herself a self-taught artist, in 2010, Whitney received a BFA, with high distinction, from California College of the Arts, in Oakland and San Francisco. Her work has received various awards in recent years including, Best of Show in the Joshua Tree National Park Art Expo, in 2019, Best Painting at the Slopoke Art Show, in 2022, and Artist’s Choice award at the Coors Western Art Exhibit, in 2023. Whitney has been featured in many national magazines such as, Western Art Collector, Southwest Art, Western Art and Architecture, and Fine Art Connoisseur.
Whitney currently lives in Wonder Valley, CA, and creates her paintings in a vintage Airstream trailer.
