Local News from Marbletown, Rochester, & Rosendale
Olivebridge artist Linda Stewart Champanier’s paintings will be on exhibit through February 29 at The Bakery, 13a North Front Street, New Paltz, New York. An artist reception open to the public will be held on February 9 from 4PM to 6PM.
Featuring plein air paintings in oil, pastel, and watercolor, the show is called From the Catskills to Cape Cod: Landscapes by a Portrait Artist. Linda Champanier is best known for her portraits, which she has been painting for more than five decades. Living in the Catskills inspired her to explore painting the beauty and magic around her. Using a variety of media allows her more flexibility. Watercolors can easily be carried in a pocket; oil paints can travel in a pochade box. Linda also uses casein, an ancient and extremely stable paint that uses milk as the medium for pigment, which dries quickly. Each painting evokes memories of that specific day’s weather, light, and the time spent outdoors.
Linda studied art at Westminster College in Pennsylvania, and went on to study for several years with renowned Connecticut portrait artist Freda Dreany and New York artist Andrew Lattimore.
Champanier’s paintings have been shown in portrait art exhibitions and fantasy genre art shows. Her photographs and fantasy paintings have been featured on several book covers and have won numerous genre awards, including “Best Fantasy Painting” at the World Fantasy Convention Art Show in Montreal, Canada.
