Linda_Renaud_Art

Linda’s interest in wildlife and the natural world started early. Her family visited many national parks on their vacations, and Linda’s lifelong hobby of photography began as a child. Linda’s second career as a watercolor artist was an on- and off-again affair for many years. Ironically, it was a bout with cancer that made her determined to paint full time. She had learned how to do watercolor wax batik just before her diagnosis, and it eventually became her signature style. After the diagnosis, Linda was afraid that the surgery, chemo and radiation would derail her progress as an artist. However, Linda was able to work on the drawings and preliminary design work for her batik paintings while she sat in her chemo recliner for hours at a time. Pretty soon she was the artist in residence on the chemo ward – and it was “show and tell” whenever she finished a painting. That affirmation in the midst of a difficult time has made her grateful for the opportunity to paint and to continue to celebrate our natural world. Linda's watercolor wax batik paintings utilize alternating applications of wax and paint to create a sense of texture, contrasts of light and dark and luminous layers of color. Her photos are the starting point for all of her paintings. “Her” critters become personal to her, and she seeks to infuse her paintings with some of the emotion of what drew her to the animal in the first place.