Linda Finn at the Sudbury Theatre Centre

A fascination for an unusual point of view, combined with a lifelong interest in telling stories become key elements that inform Linda Finn’s images in “Views From Above”.  Sometimes based on photographs that she has taken in airplanes and boats, Linda spends much of her time looking at the world at her feet. “When viewed from above, what I see below me becomes flattened into lines, shapes, colours, and textures that can be described as maps or quilts of a place and time.”

Using paint, paper, ink and sometimes thread, Linda becomes a cartographer of what she sees below her. She begins by drawing small sketches to establish an initial composition or design. A line drawing is scaled up onto canvas, board or paper and collage, paint, texture and mark making of various kinds may be added as the piece develops.  “I get lost in the work,” she says. “It’s always evolving as I respond to what happens as I add layers. To paraphrase Andy Warhol, it never turns out the way I think it will at the beginning of the process.”

When she needs inspiration, Linda visits galleries, researches online, or looks through old sketchbooks for prompts and ideas.

– Linda Finn, 2023