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The Dramatic Spectrum of Artist
Windswept
Linzi LynnA rt in many dramatic forms has always been the driving force of
Linzi’s life. A gifted performer, she began working on stage at age 11 and
traveled the world as a professional singer and dancer.
When she married an author, she decided to end her career in entertainment and settle down to raise a family,
living in the South of France. Though that decision was very deliberate, the start of Linzi’s life as a painter was
somewhat serendipitous.
by Georgianna Lane
“One day I was watching my husband type his latest
novel and, as I had always been a very active person, I
began wondering what I was going to do with my time. I
was always the worst in art during my school years but I
thought it might be fun to splash some paint around.
“I bought an easel, canvas and some oil paints and
I painted an old Asian woman with a lot of wrinkles,
standing in the foreground of a farm scene, and I was
surprised and pleased with the outcome. But the next
painting turned out even better and, miraculously, each
painting became better than the last, and so I became
addicted to art. If more people had time on their hands,
perhaps they, too, could discover hidden talents!
“Even though, through the years, I completed tons of
paintings, I did not pay much attention to exhibiting or
marketing them. I was a happy painter, enjoying painting
painting of three mischievous kids in front of a Coca Cola
sign…it may have been one of my best paintings…could
have been a Coca Cola ad.”
Since then, Linzi has sold dozens of works, many through
commissions to very pleased clients and loyal collectors, as
well as through an art festival.
AN ARRAY OF ARTISTIC INFLUENCES
B orn in London, Linzi Lynn now calls Redondo
Beach, California, home. She is largely self-taught as a
painter, studying art books and currently taking life drawing
workshops each week.
“I went through a phase when I was fascinated with
Andrew Wyeth’s work...I LOVE Christina’s World. Living
in France, having Picasso living on the next block, was
inspiring. Then later on, living in Italy, I was inspired by
The Ride
Caravaggio (of course, he was not also living on the next
block) – not that it shows in these paintings but in my early
paintings I was painting with darker colors and a more
depressing subject matter. But as you can see, these are all
grabbed a little inspiration from each and mixed them into
my own concoction. Right now I am following Dalí, Erté
and Schiele. The vast range of my inspiration moves me
forward and enables me to forever explore new possibilities.
“I love to capture a moment in someone’s life. My early
paintings were very depressing, but dramatic. I painted a lot
of starving children in Ethiopia and third world countries…
this was a phase that inspired me emotionally and I felt
compelled to paint these poor undernourished people,
perhaps from my compassion for them or my guilt of not
being able to help them or just to paint a beauty in them
that others may not have seen.
“After I got that out of my system, I painted many
portraits and came up with some paintings with people and
food (a favorite subject of mine). Then, I basically used my
imagination and made a painting for every emotion I could
think of (i.e. loneliness, sadness, happiness, etc.).
“I then developed the beginning of a series on aging
celebrities and did a lot of research on aging (even studied
George
Giles
forensic art). I only completed three of these paintings and
the fascination about how we age is still with me.
“After I received very positive feedback, I wanted to
complete the series but I was trying to paint my way out of
my day job and that’s when I decided I would have to do
something more commercial and mainstream…hence the
current series.
“For many years I always painted using straight, natural
colors, sometimes in monochrome. Then one day, I was
bored with the norm, so I started to say 'what if ?' and that
was my inspiration to step outside the box. 'What if ?' I
painted EVERYTHING in vibrant multi-colors with the
richness of a gold background? That’s when I started to use
all these colors, thick and straight from the tube…I found it
to be very liberating!”
The new works were breathtaking – rich gold
backgrounds with rainbow colors exquisitely rendering
animals, people and birds. Linzi has always had a deep love
Humming
for animals, which is so apparent in her sensitive portraits
of both domestic and wild creatures. And her skill in
capturing people is a direct result of her fascination with
their facial expressions. “Basically, when I paint what I love
or what moves me emotionally, that’s when I do my best
work...if I paint what I love, I love what I paint.”
consultant inspired Linzi to complete the series.
Linzi’s vibrant originals are painted in acrylic on
canvas, and occasionally masonite. She’s used oils,
acrylics, watercolor, inks, Conté crayons, charcoal and
pencil. “I prefer oils but acrylics dry faster, are odorless,
and their colors are as brilliant and more vibrant. I also
like to use watercolors, according to the mood of the
painting.”
Currently, Linzi is also creating limited edition giclée
canvases, meticulously recreating her originals. Printed
with a top-of-the-line printer on canvas, each is hand
embellished. “I spend a lot of time and pay a great deal
of attention to my giclées. They are all hand-painted and
identical to the originals. It’s hard to tell the difference.”
MARKETING HER WORK
Linzi undertakes a variety of marketing actions to get
her work seen and sold. “I register with online art sites.
I may put my art on some of the free websites. I send out
oversized postcards three times a year to a mailing list of
galleries. I also send out emails to an email list of galleries
three times a year. And I sell notecards (with envelopes) of
my paintings; they go fast at Arts Festivals for $3.50 each.
I may eventually license out my images. This all remains to
be seen.”
Dad
Linzi plans to expand her marketing and sales actions by
exhibiting three to four times a year at arts festivals as well
as continually promoting to get her work into galleries. She
is also considering producing larger paintings that would
appeal to corporate clients, while continuing to sell her
current series.
She admits it’s a bit trial and error in today’s current
economy, but doesn’t let it consume her attention, as
she’s involved in many other rewarding activities. “I
currently enjoy being Director of Artistic Development
for a charitable foundation called Safety Harbor Kids,
organizing a few events per year and giving hope and
inspiration through art to disadvantaged kids.”
CONNECTING UP WITH FINE ART REGISTRY®
L inzi discovered Fine Art Registry through Gerard Van Weyenbergh of Van Weyenbergh Fine Arts, who suggested
she register her paintings with FAR®. She began tagging
and registering her work in 2008. To date she has registered
The advantages are very apparent to Linzi. “I believe it
adds value to my art. When someone purchases a painting
from me and they see the number tag and I hand them the
authentic and adds to the artist’s professionalism. It is also a
way to keep track of my paintings. I like the idea of having
a recorded database of my art that is permanently there.”
Breaking Through
She knows it has helped with sales “because the buyer
knows they are getting a unique, original, numbered
painting from a professional artist. Even a giclée
becomes an original in its own right. There are so many
digital reproductions out there today that sadly, I believe
it is necessary for artists to prove their identity and their
art’s authenticity.”
Linzi plans to tag and register all her new art as
it is produced. What those works will be, though, is
something she is now considering. “I have so many
ideas for my next series and it could be something very
different. I am still uncertain if change is a good thing
or if I am supposed to stay more within the parameters
of my current style…not sure how that works. All I
know is that I am compelled to explore new styles and
techniques.”
And we look forward to seeing the dramatic results!
See Linzi’s FAR gallery here and her website here.
Night Hunt