I got hooked on fine art photography, the first night I spent in the darkroom printing my first black and white image.  It was like falling down a rabbit hole. There I was in Wonderland.

Photography is a medium that allows an artist nearly unlimited ways to express herself. I treasure the fact that I can make all kinds of images, many taken right from my imagination. The list includes blurry out-of-focus “street” images, staged doll scenarios, mysterious night shots, quiet observations of everyday life, digital composites and most recently, dreamy encaustic images. My work has evolved from the darkroom, to the computer and recently back to hands on play with alternative processes. Photography, for me, almost always involves an exploration, a journey on which I continue to explore my imagination and ideas. My most recent work is inspired by the magic and lore of fairy tales, the timeless stories that continue to fascinate.

I've been a printmaker for more than 22 years. My first prints were silkscreens. Today I specialize in multiple plate etchings. For the most part my etchings tell the story of my growing up in a Latino household. Today, I'm still telling that story and I also have time to work on a series of etchings on comical dogs. My web sites are: xavierviramontes.com & mesart.com/xviramontes

Every “Body” tells a story. My figurative works explore dreams, reflections, thoughts, and memories that translates into narrative depictions through the use of body language. Thematically my work is very much about how our body movements tell stories, through conscious and unconscious signals, typically with greater eloquence than what verbal communication allows. Whether depicting a single figure or through the juxtaposition and overlapping of multiple figures which appear at first glance to be abstract, each piece stimulates an engaging dialog with the viewer. I express and communicate an idea, emotion or thought using a common thread of assured and sensual lines creating artworks that are peaceful to joyful, sensual to sexual, alluring to provocative. I see particular beauty in the strength and sensuality of the human form. Drawing regularly from live models allows me to depict the beauty of anatomy, proportion, balance and movement. The traditional methodology, however, produces works that are completely contemporary.

Artist

Born in New Zealand, Linda is a long-time Bay Area resident, inspired by California's cultural and geographical diversity. The San Francisco Bay is her favorite subject: she observes and sketches the daily ship traffic, bridges, freeways, cranes, sunrises, sunsets, fogs, moon rises, tides, seagulls - and the occasional cruise ship and America's Cup boat. She distills her experiences into paintings, prints and objects that explore the constatly-shifting nature and restlessness of the Bay and its denizens.

I paint like a jazz musician improvises. Starting from the roots and a strong foundation, I branch out and make it my own.
From Abstract to Expressionistic, I like to push the envelope with bold, gestural brushstrokes and compelling colors. Whether I’m painting the figure, landscape or a still-life, I look for abstract shapes, stripping away the non-essentials to give a loose interpretation of form and movement, a strong interpretation of feeling and expression.
I paint in the moment.
If I start out with a plan, it most likely will change. If I stick to a plan, it will most likely fail. I let the canvas tell me where it wants to go.
I’ve been told that my loose and exuberant brushwork and lively pallet is reminiscent of the Bay Area Figurative Movement, yet that my work contains a freshness and sincerity that is all my own.

After receiving my BFA from the University of Massachusetts, with high honors, I decided to take a road trip. A trip in which I spent three months in a car, cross-country camping, with not much more than a sketch book and a camera and, of course, some camping gear and occasionally, some food. I was living rather simply, after a grueling program involved in very scientific and serious concerns of the art world of that time. On this trip I fell passionately in love with the great outdoors and the magic of geology and archeology and history of the great mountains, rivers, streams, oceans, trees and the people that inhabit these lands. I had been a “city kid” with urban concerns and not so used to the power of reflection on the simple beauty that surrounds all of us. I have worked as a studio artist and a commercial artist for many years. Meanwhile, I have always been driven to find a spiritual path that inspired me and to find fulfillment. So, one day I decided that my passion was out there — the big world that surrounds me and all its amazing beauty. And that I belong out there. Being a person who loves the outdoors so much I could almost live outside, landscape painting on location is the most perfect choice for my subject matter. Combining being outside with my passion for painting makes the art-making process truly a joy-filled and spiritual experience. As a landscape painter en plein air, I find that being outside observing the ever changing dance of light to be true witness to the face of God. The experience of painting outdoors is awe-inspiring and, at times, humbling. My goal is to capture this experience, defined by color, light and atmosphere and my emotional interpretation of the moment. I work quickly, with large brushes and lots of paint to match the pace of the sun and to keep the scene that I am involved in fresh and energized—the energy that transforms and inspires me. My inspiration often comes from the simple, often overlooked in our busy lifes — a lone boat, or a simple tree surrounded in perfect light. Sometimes, a funny thing happens when I am setting up—I think I have an opportunity to paint a subject that I have designed to be good, challenging, unique, with good light, and then I turn around to get my gear and look up and see something far more paintable. Spontaneity — a painters gift! Sometimes I call these “paintings that paint themselves”. In other words, I didn’t have to move mountains — like the bible says we can! My paintings have often been described as peaceful and serene. I find this assessment to describe the fundamental reason why I paint. I am truly inspired by the peace and serenity of the natural world that surrounds me. Presently, I am trying to capture the beauty and perfection of a location that is endangered or already slated to be developed. "The mind of the painter should be like a mirror which always takes the colour of the thing that it reflects, and which is filled by as many images as there are things placed before it."