Dennis Whitley
Born and raised in Westchester County, N.Y., from an early age while taking notes at school, Dennis Whitley would doodle in the margins of his notebook. He did not realize then that these doodles would be the beginning of his talent as an artist.
After graduating from high school, he attended and graduated from St. Bonaventure University in New York state, where he majored in business. During his early career, he worked in international sales of construction related equipment, then outside sales in the New York metropolitan area market. During this time, Dennis would sketch landscape and water scenes in addition to portraits from pictures he came across in magazines. He found drawing to be enjoyable and relaxing. These drawings were all done with a #2 pencil.
As time went on, Dennis met his wife Norma of 37 years and they married. He was promoted to regional sales manager covering the eastern seaboard and Dennis and Norma started a family—they are the parents of boy/girl twins. During this very busy time as Dennis started his own business as a manufacturers’ representative, he took a long hiatus from drawing.
On the way to a sales meeting in Hawaii in February 2007, Dennis and Norma decided to stop in Phoenix for a few days to break up the long trip. They planned to enjoy the beautiful weather—a welcome change from New York’s cold winter—but it rained during their stay. Looking for things to do indoors, they decided to “just visit” PebbleCreek during DesertFest to look at the model homes and the interior designs.
With no intention of purchasing a home, since they were both still working in New York, they liked what they saw in the PebbleCreek community: tennis courts, clubhouses, restaurants, the Creative Arts Center, and more. They looked at lots and ended up purchasing a home in Tuscany Falls. They traveled to PebbleCreek during vacations 2007 to 2015, when Dennis and Norma decided to retire and move permanently to the place that they enjoyed.
At this point, Dennis started to draw with a #2 pencil again. He attended Saturday mornings at the Creative Arts Center to explore colored pencils. Eventually, he joined the Art Club and took Barbara Dahlstedt’s colored pencil class where he discovered techniques in blending and color selection. This was exactly what he needed to bring his artwork to the next level.
Dennis has created numerous paintings in colored pencil and has incorporated pastels into his work. He enjoys landscapes, portraits, flora and fauna, and classic cars. He has entered his work in the PebbleCreek Art shows and has received awards for his work.
Please visit Dennis’ artwork displayed at the Creative Arts Center and the Tuscany Falls and Eagle’s Nest Clubhouses in October, and plan to stop by the fall art show on Nov. 5 to view some of his work, as well as works of other artists in our community.