Featured Artist Lynn Goldstein

Filled with color, light, and a sense of place, painter Lynn Goldstein’s portraits of nature communicate peace and beauty. Visit this artist’s website to learn more about her work.

 

 

I can’t remember when I wasn’t fascinated with art. All kinds of art. I studied ballet until my feet protested. Loudly. I also practiced playing the flute and piano. However, from an early age, the art that has been a defining part of my life has been drawing and painting.

 

 

My childhood informed the directions that I have taken artistically in at least two ways—first, the peace that I found while being among the trees captivated me while growing up in the mountains of West Virginia. Second, my family was from a Jewish background. As a result of being a minority in my hometown, I was driven to think about the roots of my ancestors.

 

 

With this background, it is no wonder that I concentrate on landscapes (with detours into installation pieces) that explore my family’s traditions and history.

 

 

Unlike many of the artists I have known, I was not encouraged to pursue visual art—far from it. I earned a degree in fine art, despite the fact that many of my teachers berated me and told me I couldn’t draw. Ironically, these art professors caused me to almost give up creating.

 

 

Making art became my contraband— something that I would never share. I didn’t make art openly for at least five years, but I couldn’t stop drawing. After being encouraged by a trusted friend that I had ability, I began pursuing drawing and painting publicly.

 

 

I use many different techniques to complete paintings. I have worked in pastel for decades because I love the ability to paint with a drawing medium. I also work in acrylic, and have returned to my first love of oil painting.

 

 

I find that each medium informs and improves the work that I do in the other. Switching it up also keeps me on my toes, and doesn’t hurt my feet the way that ballet did!

 

 

I am never interested in replicating exactly what I see in front of me. Rather, I want to express the way that being in nature makes me feel. I sense that my work will become more abstract after decades of making representational art. It’s all about the journey, after all, and I enjoy exploring.

 

 

That need for exploration has led to the installations that I have completed. I have been called the “Tree Lady” because my work often involves trees. I have even painted two series that are essentially portraits of individual trees.

 

 

Indeed, even the installation work that I have done exploring my Jewish heritage has included trees. So, the landscape is a common thread in all of my work so far, and although my work may change, I expect the landscape will continue to inspire me.

 

Artist Lynn Goldstein invites you to follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

 

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