Linda Christensen

Patio

2024

“I begin this short essay with my artists’ statement from 1997 because it illustrates my focus on emotion instead of on subject matter starting early on. I approached the idea of wri...

“I begin this short essay with my artists’ statement from 1997 because it illustrates my focus on emotion instead of on subject matter starting early on. I approached the idea of writing about what I paint back then with dread and tried to bypass it by being as honest as possible about my process. I’d like to think that I paint anything I want because through paint I can express how I feel. I started training to be an artist in early childhood. I studied texture. I learned about composition. I played with color and observed the beauty of line. My methods were unconventional and invented by me. Many different things inspired me: Cheerios in milk, clouds, hands in food, dry dusty dirt, wet mud puddles, coloring books, fashion photos in the newspaper and my keen need to observe my surroundings. When asked what I wanted to be when I grew up I had no answer. I just wanted to watch, and to observe the world around me. I’ve worked for years on a response to that complicated question “what is the work about?” I’ve developed all kinds of stories that seem to make sense at the time, but I have to ask, “isn’t this the same question as ‘what do you want to be when you grow up?”’ I am drawn to the figure, and to capturing physical expression in all types of situations, but especially when we are on our own. The body carries emotion, and most people are unaware that they reveal something of themselves when observed in private moments. When I was young I realized that I could easily understand the unspoken just by watching. It felt like a strange and isolating gift – and sometimes a curse – and I often felt confused and acted out in anger when the words didn’t match what I saw. But I still recognize all kinds of emotion there, and whether what I see is true or not, I relish the vulnerability of the moment. Color is another important tool for me. It’s a self-taught endeavor and one that I explore daily. Color mixing is similar to building flavors in a soup. A soup with just salt is watery and uninteresting. As in cooking, I pay close attention from the first layers what each color feels like in terms of its value, whether it’s warm or cool, and how it fits the composition. I am looking for something that feels harmonious with my nervous system. I begin with abstract shapes, then ask, “Is this shape interesting? Does this color work next to that one? Is it too strong? Is it helpful to the overall composition?” The more complex the mix, the more likely it is to hold my attention, and allow me to linger. Those puddles of paint sitting on my six foot glass palette...

“I begin this short essay with my artists’ statement from 1997 because it illustrates my focus on emotion instead of on subject matter starting early on. I approached the idea of wri...

“I begin this short essay with my artists’ statement from 1997 because it illustrates my focus on emotion instead of on subject matter starting early on. I approached the idea of wri...

'Once Upon a Table' is a figurative portrait by multi-disciplinary artist Kim Frohsin. Professionally framed in a white ash hardwood floater frame, with an opening on the back, to reveal the artist's signature, title of the painting, and year of its making - 2008. Ready for hanging and also suitable to sit of a table as a sculpture. Frohsin’s work is held by the San Jose Museum of Art, the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, the Office of the Governor, State Capital, Sacramento, and the United States Department of State. Her work is also in numerous corporate and private collections, among them the Morgan Flagg Family Collection, Buck Fine Arts, Adobe Systems, Inc Neiman Marcus and the Gap, Inc. Frohsin began exhibiting in the San Francisco Bay Area in the early 1990s, and in 1993 was included with Nathan Olivera, Manuel Neri and Stephen De Staebler in an exhibit of "Four Figures from the Bay." With Wayne Thiebaud as the juror, she won the California Society of Printmakers' Award in 1996, and the following year exhibited at the de Young Museum in San Francisco in "Bay Area Art...

"Waiting Figure" is a Post War abstract landscape oil on canvas painting by Roland Petersen in 1967. The artwork is 68 x 56 inches and, with the frame, is 69 3/8 x 57 1/2 x 3 inches....

The veranda - the morning light, the silence and the feeling of absolute happiness, it's a special kind of zen that reminds me of my childhood when I used to step on the wooden floor...

Signed lower left, 'Elizabeth Greaf' (American, 20th Century) and dated 1990. A complex study of reflected light and images by this Virginia artist a...