Davyd Whaley

by Peter Clothier, Norman Buckley (Editor)

This book celebrates the astonishing achievement of Davyd Whaley (1967-2014) and documents his artistic legacy. Whaley produced a remarkable body of work in an intense and relatively short period of activity from 2007-2014. He came late to the recognition of his creative potential, and died too young to have achieved the full acknowledgement he would certainly have earned. His paintings, exploring Jungian themes and dream imagery, ask the essential Why are we here? What can or should we do here? Where might we be going? It is our loss that he did not live to explore these questions in greater depth. We as viewers, however, can bring our own thoughts, questions, and doubts to bear on what can be discovered about ourselves as we experience the full range of his legacy. Included in the book is an essay “A Hero’s Journey,” by Peter Clothier. Clothier writes, “The hero’s journey is above all a spiritual quest, whose ordeal is the battle with the dark side of one’s human nature, and whose grail is ‘enlightenment’—finding the light, the self-knowledge that leads to inner peace and the recognition of one’s place in the world. The emotional turmoil that has its source in Whaley’s childhood experience begins to find resolution in the recognition of his ‘true self’ as an artist.”

200 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2016

About the author

Peter Clothier is an internationally-known writer who specializes in writing about art and artists. He believes in avoiding the jargon that obscures much current writing about art, and in writing simply, clearly, in language that the lay person can readily understand. He seeks to achieve a harmony of mind, heart, and body in his work, and looks for this quality in the artists he writes about. A reformed academic, now fifteen years in recovery, he has returned in recent years to teaching, in mostly non-traditional ways: in workshops, continuing groups, and individual coaching and mentoring for artists and writers.