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