Rebecca Birtwhistle

Born 1980.  Educated at The King’s School, Worcester (1991–98) and Pembroke College, Oxford (1999–2002), graduating with a BA (Hons) in Fine Art from the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art.  As an undergraduate, Rebecca’s studio practice focused on Sculpture and Installation with supporting work in Printmaking.  Much of the inspiration for her work, including the large graphite drawings and book exhibited as part of her degree show, came from studying architectural structure and human anatomy and the parallels between them.  The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford purchased a pen and ink drawing, selecting it as their winning entry for the 2002 Vivien Leigh Prize.  This piece was selected from a portfolio of research studies, made during regular visits to the University dissecting room.

Alongside her studio work, Rebecca has undertaken private commissions, designed logos and book illustrations, and produced images for Pembroke College (Oxford), The Cathedral Shop (Worcester), and the Centre for Criminological research (Oxford University).  In January 2002, she provided a series of pen and ink drawings for the touring Anne Frank exhibition “A History for Today” shown in Worcester Cathedral.  These images were used to produce large display panels, which were also used when the exhibition moved on to Hereford and Dudley during 2003.  The show continues to tour nationally.  During January 2003 her work was used on stage in a production of Alan Aykbourn’s Season’s Greetings at Worcester’s Swan Theatre. 

Whilst living and working in Cornwall, Rebecca developed a keen interest in the dramatic forms of her surrounding environment and an enthusiasm for landscape painting.  Meanwhile, architectural subjects continue to be a source of inspiration, with trips to Italy and Morocco providing a variety of subjects for mixed media studies, pencil drawings, and paintings.