Linda Bice
I paint mostly en plein air (on location) with Soft Pastels. My artwork celebrates the beauty that surrounds us through my use of color, light, and shape, and the interaction of those elements.
When I was young, I would mix my crayon colors to make my favorite combinations that weren't in the box. My favorite color was "sky blue pink"! It had a bit of blue, pink, and just a touch of yellow.
That love of color discovery has never waned, and the options are much broader with soft pastel. I love the immediacy of holding the color in my fingers and using my hands to move the colors around. The dryness of the medium works well for Plein Air. There is no waiting for layers to dry: I can paint with clean, crisp color without waiting for the materials to catch up with my mind.
Painting outside in Colorado reminds me of how I felt growing up on a farm in New England, where I first learned to appreciate the amazing beauty that surrounds us.