"There is a universal spirit that lies deep within all of us. It may be joyful, sad, capricious or even angry. It is this spirit I hope to capture and bring to life in my art."
 

            Patricia Whiteside Phillips has been experimenting with all forms of art for as long as she can recall. She graduated with a degree in Fine Arts from Scripps College. Later, while teaching, she received her advanced degree in Fine Arts from Claremont Graduate School. She has taught art full time at the high school level in Santa Ana School District for 25 years, as well as Junior College and private classes.

            Whiteside Phillips raised her family in Laguna Beach, CA, and is an art activist. She is a board member of CAP (Community Art Project), LOCA (Laguna Outreach for Community Arts), and The Arts Alliance. She is also a member of OCCCA (Orange County Center for Contemporary Art) and the Laguna Beach Museum of Art. She organized and teaches the art program for early education at The Boys & Girls Club, sponsored by LOCA.

            Mixed media paintings and photography by Whiteside Phillips have been exhibited across California, New York, Arizona, Mexico and Paris, France. She is represented in galleries, private collections, colleges and museums. She has also participated in many juried and solo exhibits including Orlando Gallery in Los Angeles, The Festival of Arts and BC Space in Laguna Beach, OCCCA in Santa Ana, the Irvine Fine Arts Center, and Amos Eno Gallery in New York.

            The mixed media works Whiteside Phillips exhibits may include any combination of acrylics, photography, pastels, enamel and/or fiber. The paint is mixed or glazed, scratched through, scumbled or dripped. The work is expressionistic, full of vibrant color and energetic strokes. Photographs are often incorporated and become part of the artistic statement.

            Whiteside Phillips is particularly interested in discovering the images and experiences common to all cultures. She believes there is a universal spirit which manifests itself in the language of art. This spirit may be expressed through symbols, myths and icons that we all can identify in an artistic form.