C. Keith Whitelock grew up in Mt. Vernon, a small community in Maryland's Somerset County. As a youth, he was interested in art, and visits to such places as Crisfield and Deal Island planted the seeds of images that would later emerge in his paintings and drawings. Some of his favorite subjects are the weathered working boats and decaying derelicts which so often accent the surrounding marsh, and of course the wary bay area waterfowl. Working in oils, watercolors, and more recently acrylics, he tries to preserve a realistic image of a way of life always threatened my modernization. Keith received a degree in Art Education from the University of Maryland in 1975 and soon began teaching art in a Salisbury high school. In 1977 he joined Burroughs Corporation as a graphic artist. In 1980 he left Burroughs to pursue a full-time career of painting the Eastern Shore scenes he loves so much.

   Ducks Unlimited has recognized his support by presenting him several conservation service awards and naming him artist of the year for several local chapters. He has been named as MD D.U.'s sponsor print program Artist of the Year for 1989. In other exhibits around the shore his paintings have earned many silver and cash awards.

   His work has been featured in the Gallery section of PACE Magazine (Piedmont Airlines) and in issues of Delmarva Heartland which recently published an article written and illustrated by Keith about Chesapeake Bay working sailboats. His work was included in the opening exhibit of Maryland Artplace and in the "Wildlife" show at the Life of Maryland Gallery, both in Baltimore. He is a member of the Dorchester Grand National Hunt Club, winning the 1985 invitational. His entry was presented to Frank White, TV's "Southern Sportsman", for being "Top Gun" at the 1985 event. Keith also exhibited at the Southeastern Waterfowl Festival in Easton, Maryland, which invited him to exhibit in the prestigious Gold Room for three consecutive years. Keith is a member of the Ward Foundation and an artist member of the American Society of Marine Artists (ASMA).