Linda Hutchinson
| Linda Hutchinson uses painting to create meditations on life and human connection. Her subject matter ranges from portraiture to still life, and she works masterfully in both oils and watercolors. She describes her creative technique as an act of balancing realistic detail with erasure, blur, and abstraction. Hutchinson’s paintings are atmospheric compositions that appear to be moving or destroying themselves before the viewer’s eyes, as if being erased (or released) from memory in real time. The harmony of detail and abstraction allows her viewer’s eye to rest and ruminate on small details like the delicate gesture of a hand, or a fragile, wilting leaf. Hutchinson’s paintings radiate warmth and happiness, and a sense of nostalgia for simple domestic settings and childhood. Linda Hutchinson describes her process as an act of Zen meditation:
“My work is a product of non-conceptualization where I try to clear my mind of the intellectual and move to the Zen state of mushin (no mind). From this state I believe that I am more able to attain a connection to things directly and positively. My work focuses on what it means to be human, as well a connection to our life on this earth, which is antithetical to the pervasive and complex technology- and consumption-driven culture that we live in. I want my viewers to feel emotion, to feel human, with all of its imperfection.” Linda Hutchinson is a native of Ohio, where she is active in many artist communities, including the American Watercolor Society, the Ohio Watercolor Society and Oil Painters of America. Her works have been included in numerous juried exhibitions and group shows. She teaches painting and drawing in her spare time with the continuing education program through Kent City Schools, and actively shows work in juried exhibitions. Awards include: Ohio Watercolor Society Gold Medal in 2001; First Night Akron button artist in 2008; and twice the recipient of The Kaleidoscope Award, a People’s Choice award given at Summit Artspace in Akron, Ohio. |
