www.lindamacdonald.com

Artist Statement

California is filled with extremes:  the highest mountain peak in the continental U.S. to the lowest valley; the largest trees to the pygmy forests; the clear blue skies to the gray smog alert days; the high Sierra mountains on the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west.  Superlatives abound to describe the natural beauty, yet how do we raise awareness about the fragility of these natural assets so that the public will appreciate, enjoy, and become stewards? 

I want to portray the conflicts and idiosyncrasies of living in such beauty by creating narratives that reveal the dramas in the state:  overpopulation, wineries displacing food crops, water usage, and logging, to name a few.  I use humor and beauty to present these topics.  Through painting in oils and watercolors I am representing the miniscule of the dirt underfoot to the enormous slabs of ageing redwoods up above.  Both micro and macro views capture the immensity of nature.

Bio

Linda MacDonald, a California native, grew up in the Bay Area, attending San Francisco State University for her B.A. and M.F.A.  She also received a Single Subject Credential in Art from Dominican College in San Rafael.  As a child, she explored the textile arts of sewing and quilting, learning from her female relatives who had ties to the Midwest.  She realized that creating with her hands was a wonderful skill.   Fibers and textiles were her first art mediums.

Her work is in the collection of the Museum of Art and Design (MAD) in New York City, The International Quilt Study Center & Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska, The White House, The City of San Francisco and the Mendocino County Museum.  She is a member of WEAD (Women Environmental Art Directory).  She has shown her work locally and internationally in group shows and one- and two-person shows in galleries, art centers, museums, and universities.  She continues to teach part-time and lecture in universities, art centers and museums.