“I want the viewer to walk away having felt something.”
– Linda St. Clair
I recently visited the studio of artist Linda St. Clair in Santa Fe, New Mexico. What a delight! Her airy studio is a sky-lit space filled with color and energy.
Linda paints animals of all sorts and sizes, furry and feathered. Each one radiates a unique personality, energy and attitude. Linda’s appreciation and fascination with them is evident in every brushstroke.
Technically, Linda’s brushy, painterly style is simultaneously loose and precise. Lost and found edges abound, leading the viewer’s eye on a compelling path across and around the canvas. But even more so, it’s her use of color that truly delights. Lavenders, reds, and wild yellows meld together or create edgy contrast with warm ochres and golds of a grizzly’s fur or the shimmering black of raven feathers. Her risky use of bright blue as shadow on one large painting of a horse demands a second look, then a smile. She refers to herself as an impressionist, but the observant viewer is left with more than an impression. The
Although she always had an interest in art, it was not Linda’s first career. She began painting 20 years ago.
Linda’s exuberant work found immediate success, exhibiting in the prestigious Arts for the Parks exhibit with her first submission. She has always painted animals, and was initially renowned for vibrant chickens and other barnyard critters. Currently Linda is reveling in wildlife imagery, though she still finds great satisfaction in expressive exploration of the personalities of domesticated animals.
Linda now says that she doesn’t know if she paints to travel, or travels to paint. Her most recent journeys to Alaska to visit with grizzlies, and to Africa to experience big cats in the wild, have resulted in glorious paintings.
For more info about Linda’s work be sure to visit her website: www.lindastclairartist.com
Looks like a wonderful studio with wonderful art. Great to be able to see it in person!