The Dramatic Spectrum of Artist Linzi Lynn

Windswept

The Dramatic Spectrum of Artist

Linzi Lynn

by Georgianna Lane

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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.

“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 NWZ XIQV\QVO¼[ [ISM 1 [WTL Ua ÅZ[\ XQMKM QV ! 1\ _I[ I

The Ride

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

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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

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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 KWUXTM\MTa LQNNMZMV\ IZ\Q[\[ IVL I[ NIZ I[ QVÆ]MVKM OWM[ 1 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

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

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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

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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.” )N\MZ [MMQVO \PM ÅZ[\ \_W WN \PM[M VM_ _WZS[ IV IZ\ 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

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inzi 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.”

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.”

Breaking Through

CONNECTING UP WITH FINE ART REGISTRY®

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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 WZQOQVIT[ IVL OQKTuM[ 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 KMZ\QÅKI\M WN I]\PMV\QKQ\a Q\ UISM[ \PM XQMKM [XMKQIT IVL 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.”

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.

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