Lin Seslar

My goal as an artist is to reveal the extraordinary beauty that lies hidden just beneath the surface of everyday scenes that surround us – the rich colors of an unplanned still life, a bedroom or living room replete signs of a life in the process of being lived, a house glimpsed in momentary light, a rowboat unattended resting languidly on calm water or the sun rising radiantly above an early morning fog. Although my compositions are based on actual subjects, I gladly exercise “artistic license” to better tell a story or to create a mood in much the same way a poet or a composer finds new and inspiring ways to combine ordinary words and musical notes into creations that transcend their origins. During thirty plus years of painting, my style has evolved from focusing on every line and detail to a more painterly approach that focuses on the interactions of light, form and color allowing viewers to experience an emotional response to my subjects. To accomplish this, I paint in a plein air (on location) style whenever possible and nearly always paint alla prima (at one go). People think of plein air or alla prima paintings as having heavy paint textures but my painting style evolved differently. Unlike many artists who use stiff bristle brushes, I complete most of my paintings using a soft brush called a “bright.” The result is a painting with a smooth surface rather than one that is heavily textured.