Art & Life with Linda MacDonald

Today we’d like to introduce you to Linda MacDonald.

Linda, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I moved to the wilderness of northern California in the 1970s to get “back to nature.” There was lots of wildlife, old cabins, no phones or electricity and wood stoves for heat. I reveled in the abundance of redwood trees, mountains and rivers but was struck by the remnants of 19th century logging and the recent acceleration of new, second growth logging. Aging tourist attractions still dotted the main highways. They portray the grandeur of the redwoods of yesteryear but are in disrepair and beckon to a healthier past. Ninety-five percent of all the virgin redwoods have been cut in the past 170 years. What is left in national and state parks and private land is threatened. After my stint in nature, I moved to a nearby town with my husband to teach art, make art, show art, and raise a family.

Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I paint the redwood trees, and try to paint the experience of being inside a burned-out redwood tree. I am drawn to these interiors because of their shapes, negative and positive; their colors which run the gamut of the spectrum; and the beauty of their rimmed and dead bark. The history of their aging is there in the wood–it is marred, burned and charred, graffiti-laden, smooth or curly. The interiors are cave-like, cool, and encompassing. They have been used as cabins, goose pens, and shops. The immensity of these monoliths is worthy of our time, money, ingenuity, love and commitment for their preservation. I want people to understand their importance in our environment and our need for their preservation.

The problems of creating art about these monoliths and doing them justice are many: how does one overcome the notion of painting a tree without painting the entire tree from treetop to ground? How trite is it to paint a tree? How to I represent a 325′ object on 60″ of canvas? My solution has been to get close, go inside, and paint the interiors of the trees. I photograph, sketch, and record the interiors and then take the images back to the studio. There I work with the photos to find what I want to make into paintings. The resulting artwork is seemingly abstract yet realistic too. Hopefully, these works will create dialogue and inquiry as to where these trees are located and what their status is so that when the time comes for decisions, we are all more informed.

Artists rarely, if ever pursue art for the money. Nonetheless, we all have bills and responsibilities and many aspiring artists are discouraged from pursuing art due to financial reasons. Any advice or thoughts you’d like to share with prospective artists?
It is important to be financially secure so that you can pursue your art with some freedom and leisure. I have done this by teaching and acquiring the necessary degrees: B.A., M.F.A., Teaching Credential. I have been able to teach at universities, art centers, and K through Graduate School. I taught full-time at a local high school so that I now have retirement benefits and can work on my art full-time. Teaching is not easy but it was available and the most appropriate path for me.

What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
I keep my work updated on my website: lindamacdonald.com. I show regularly at Gallery Route One in Point Reyes, CA. galleryrouteone.org. Ask to be on my email list and receive my showing schedule, teaching schedule, art news regularly: linda@lindamacdonald.com

Contact Info:

• Address: 191 Wood St. Willits, CA 95490
• Website: lindamacdonald.com
• Phone: 7074594563
• Email: linda@lindamacdonald.com
• Instagram: macdonaldpainter

Image Credit:
Robert Comings

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