ArtBrake!: Linda Anderson

Oils and Watercolors

and Concrete Sculpture

©Linda Anderson 2017

©Linda Anderson 2015

Linda at the easel...

It’s hard to explain why I paint what I paint. But I have discovered over the years that my most self-satisfying works involve subjects that I personally love, not of things I think will sell. I must first be in love with my work, then, if I am very lucky, someone else will love it as well.

©Linda Anderson 2017

That is the job of an artist, to relay that connectedness she has with her subjects to other people. Not to paint a picture with colors that match furnishings, nor to make something look exactly like the thing itself. It has to say something different from reality, yet it may or may not still exhibit realistic qualities.

© Linda Anderson 2017

The ultimate goal of making art has to involve the enjoyment of the process itself. That’s often hard to do but when I do experience those moments, it feels like nothing else in life. But it’s similar to that state you are in when you catch an afternoon nap on the couch or the savasana pose in yoga, where your mind takes a back seat to feeling and sensation takes over. I guess that’s central to all life experiences, the sensation of the moment. As with other experiences that improve with growing older, I hope being in the moment becomes easier and more joyful as I continue my journey!