Linda Christensen - Yuma Art Symposium 2022 Presenter

I have been inspired by emotion for many years. It has been the driving force as my subject matter. It is challenging and allusive and oftentimes frustrating. To prepare for my day in the studio, I create an environment that keeps me engaged and in the room! I put on old black and white movies, I keep my day open ended, I work on the under-painting for a very long time and I use photos of family members and shared memories. 

Aspire, Oil on Canvas, 24 x 24 in 

Writer, Oil on Canvas, 48 x 36 in 

The threads that weave their way through the work are pattern, line, abstraction and the figure. These elements were part of my early childhood playtime and it is these foundational visual cues that give me a sense of stability as I explore the more difficult theme of emotion in my work. Coloring books, abstract compositions visible in my bowl of Cheerios, the repeating rows of strawberries in the Salinas Valley and the ever-present horizon line where sky, meets ocean all became my early schooling in art. My mother became my original muse and it was her poses and postures that I studied. I became a keen observer.

Longest Day, Oil on Canvas, 48 x 72 in 

Common Knowledge, Oil on Canvas, 48 x 72 

The emotions that I touch on are personal and universal. I have been an observer of people in general, noticing when they drop their outward persona and tether back to their true self. I look for that. I see emotion in that. I paint that. 

Hawaii, Oil on Canvas, 30 x 30 in 

Convergence, Oil on Canvas, 40 x 40 in