The artist Brian Witham grew up in Winslow, Maine and in 1987 graduated from The Community School in Camden. When Witham first heard, from his former teacher Emanuel Pariser, about a work in progress C-School Documentary that needed funds for completion, he immediately sent a box of paintings to Pariser. Director and Producer of the film, Sybil Patten, has been collaborating with Witham to plan this group art show.
Witham is currently serving a sentence for bank robbery in a facility in Terre Haute, IN. Witham regards his term at the Community School in 1987 as a lucky break and an idyllic respite from his home life and juvenile justice placement. Brian’s adult life has been rocky, and he has been incarcerated for long periods since his mid 20s. Patten has edited a short audio piece. This will be playing at the benefit, so the guests can hear, in Witham’s own words, how art has become a safe space for recovery like the C-School was for many adolescents.
Below Witham describes his journey to becoming an artist.
I got a book in the mail …“Great Masters of European Art”... I was captivated, mesmerized, by the images inside. I could feel my brain chemistry changing as I studied them, felt tension leaving my body, felt my breathing deepen, and my focus sharpening…. It was both wonderfully inspiring and massively intimidating. It started to become a dream of mine to become a painter, to try to duplicate the effects of the images I beheld. I felt a deep urge to participate with the images in a more complete way than merely taking them in.
Director and Producer of the film, Sybil Patten, has been collaborating with Witham to plan this group art show since early 2025. Sales will benefit the post-production of the C-School documentary.
Town Bird, 11” X 9”
acrylic on hardboard panels
Birds of the Camden Flock Series
“Emanuel” is part of the series of 20 Chickadee Portraits, and is painted on hardboard panels ranging in size from 12.5” x 10” to 5.75” x 9”. The panels are sanded to accept treatment and primed with a premium gesso. The paintings were done with a combination of medium and tick bodied acrylic.
