We are pleased to introduce our newest artist, Linda Bigness! Linda is an encaustic painter and mixed media artist who maintains a studio space in Syracuse, New York. Her abstract artwork features rich color palettes and balanced compositions, with some evoking a sense of the natural environment. Her encaustic paintings are also available as customizable fine art prints.
An internationally exhibited artist, Linda's work has been included in several prestigious solo and group shows that have involved notable jurors such as art critic Clement Greenberg, OK Harris Gallery Director Ivan Karp, and Tom Piche, Director of the Daum Museum of Contemporary Art. In addition, Bigness’ large scale paintings are often selected and commissioned for corporate and residential clients, including the Turning Stone Resort, Merrill Lynch Corporation, Haylor, Freyer & Coon, and Bausch and Lomb.
Presently, she is working on her latest book and exhibition about abstract art and the contemporary processes used by working artists today. Part of the research for this book is taken from the workshops she teaches and her oil painting and mixed media collage experience. For over 30 years, Bigness has used her expertise to share with others the unique beauty and processes of her chosen medium through writing, teaching, and professional exhibits.
Her first book, Paint It, Tear It, Create It, offered the reader insight into visual abstract thinking through the process of collage into painting. She continues to explore the abstract through surface manipulation, using encaustics and oil and is currently working on a new series titled, Journey Stones Revisited, which reflects her extensive travels through the United States and Europe.
Encaustic literally means, “burn in,” from the Greek word, "enkaustikos." This name comes from the fact that in encaustic painting, each layer must be fused with heat to the layer beneath it. The base medium which is used for encaustic painting is primarily made from beeswax. The wax is mixed with damar resin which is crystallized sap from fir trees. The damar resin provides hardness while the wax provides luminosity. Encaustic art can be made with only this clear combination or mixed with high quality pigments.
"As an artist," Linda says, "I observe the world through a unique lens relying upon memory, perception, and past experience to interpret reality through the aesthetic of abstraction... Whether it is man-made or part of our natural world, there is a subtle beauty to be found in the deterioration of our environment. As I pass through this world and take in the layers of destruction and renewal, I record what I see and use my creative output to give the world hope and a renewed sense of understanding for what is already a part of our reality."
Click to see all of Linda's abstract original artwork and prints.
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Michael David Sage
Great biography.