The Art of Becoming Exhibit Preview

Artist: Sylvia Hall Linton

“The Art of Becoming” other than what we are is the experience of all that lives, and in my life, art has played a transformative role. That is why I feel compelled to paint images that are neither one thing nor another, that hover between the physical and the spiritual, the real and the imagined. 

That theme of art as an agent of change calls for media that allow the serendipitous emergence of forms. For my images, I want paint to flow, mingle, form new colors, like in a dream. Watercolor and alcohol ink do that, as do fluid acrylics, which work with layers of paint that can be poured, blown, or swiped, with very different results. Yupo is a synthetic substrate that doesn’t absorb paint, so I often experiment and let the image grow organically. 

I have a small painting (Here I Stand) in this show: stormy skies above, raging river below, and on a sliver of land between them stands a figure with raised arms. Is he beseeching the heavens for help, or is he doing battle with the elements? His presence was not intentional but when the clouds parted, I saw that dribble. For me the image was a gift. He was becoming a bridge between Earth and Sky, and if he holds on just a bit longer the turbulence will pass – or he may be struck by lightning and fall into the raging current and drown. Art always offers alternative stories.

Raven's Whisper

14x14
Watercolor
$85

Night Visitor

16x12
Powdered charcoal, watercolor
NFS

Light Within

20x29
Watercolor
NFS

Circle of Life

10x10
Watercolor
NPS

Bad Hair Day for Owls

Fluid Acrylics
24x20
NFS