Issue 51 Aurora Magazine October 2022

create
LINDA GRAY
Painting What Isn’t There
STORY SERENA KIRBY | PHOTOS SERENA KIRBY
Many artists start their paintings with a subject or theme firmly fixed in their mind. Not
Linda Gray; she starts with the colours. On a strip of art paper she’ll dab a single colour
then add complementary hues that are shaped by her mood, inspiration and aesthetic
sensibilities. The result is a colour chart which guides her to what she will paint.
“It’s colour that draws people’s attention,” Linda says. “And my aim is to paint
something that makes people happy; makes them smile.”
For Linda, if the colour chart develops as a palette of blues and yellows, she’ll lean
towards painting an ocean or beach theme. And, if the hues are complementary, yet
highly random, she’ll paint something abstract.
This method of creating a painting has been extremely successful and rewarding for
Linda and there’s no doubt it’s helped her be a prolific artist. She paints around 50
works a year and has sold around 800 paintings since she began in earnest 15-plus
years ago. She also has what you would call ‘a bit of a following.’
“There’s a lovely woman in Perth who has 25 of my paintings and I know several other
people who have more than one or two. My work always sells quickly and often before
it’s finished. I also prefer to make my work affordable so they’re all priced under $600.
This way more people can enjoy them as the aim is to bring happiness to people and I
regularly donate paintings to worthy causes.”
Linda’s desire to spread a bit of painterly joy is undoubtedly influenced by her
upbringing. Her mother was a capable embroiderer and the young Linda would sit and
watch as a picture would begin to take shape within the perimeter of an embroidery
frame.
Sadly, Linda’s mother died when she was nine and, with her father no longer on the
scene, she and her siblings were separated and put into foster care. While Linda doesn’t
dwell on her years in foster homes she acknowledges that it has shaped her painting
style.
“I used to paint as a form of escapism and was always a child with a wild imagination.
When I paint I totally switch off and become absorbed in the work. I like to paint
what isn’t there rather than what is. Some of my paintings are abstract but most are
whimsical and many feature rows or clusters of little houses. I think this springs from
my subconscious; of not having security at home as I was often moved from one foster
home to another.”
BELOW: Linda beside two of her recent pieces at the Riverfront Gallery in Denmark. OPPOSITE TOP: An example of one of Linda’s colour charts. OPPOSITE BOTTOM: Docks in Twilight, acrylic on canvas.
14 LOVE LOCAL