Transitions, change, metamorphosis, evolution and movement: these are themes that preoccupy me in my paintings at this point in my life.

My paintings often begin in what appears to be a frenzy of chaos as I play with the basic elements of the watercolor medium that I so love: water and pigments. As a lover of water, I often work on very wet paper adding the transparent pigments often with wild abandon. Happy accidents”; inevitable in watercolor, as in life and nature; are encouraged by my method. These “mutations” challenge and inspire me as my paintings evolve. Over time, I add layer upon layer of color. Shapes emerge, light and dark areas complement each other, and hard edges direct the eye.

My work often calls for other media; acrylic, collage, oil pastels, or ink; to enhance its development. Increasingly, I am using collage, consisting of archival papers which I color, splatter or marble and then rip and tear them permitting me to “paint” with paper. Later in the evolution of the art work, I may scrape away layers to reveal the life underneath. Finally, out of the chaos, order and balance emerge.

If I am successful, I have captured a transitory moment reflecting movement from some real past to an unknown future.

Linda James is a seasonal resident of North Hero, Vermont. She is an active participant in the artistic community on the Islands: teaching watercolor, collage and design to both beginner and advanced students out of her North Hero Studio.

Linda is a founding member of CIAO (The Champlain Island Artists’ Organization), Director of their Annual Artists’ Show and Sale and is an exhibiting member at the Grand Isle Art Works Gallery in Grand Isle, Vermont. She has also exhibited at the Fisk Farm on Isle La Motte and at the Merchant’s Bank in South Hero, Vermont. Each July, she participates in the Island Open Studio Weekend and welcomes visitors to her studio.

Linda also lives and paints in Montréal, Quebec as well as in Naples, Florida.

In Quebec, she has studied at the Visual Arts Center, the Saidye Bronfman Art Institute and at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and attends workshops given by the Japanese Paper Place.

In Florida, she is a member of the Bonita Springs Art League and the Naples Art Institute where she has pursued her studies and has exhibited her work.

Linda has also attended workshops at the Hudson River Valley Art Retreats in New York and at various locations abroad including Cypress, the Czech Republic, the Greek Islands and Switzerland.