{"id":74505,"date":"2024-03-21T16:24:14","date_gmt":"2024-03-21T23:24:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/?p=74505"},"modified":"2024-06-05T18:46:44","modified_gmt":"2024-06-06T01:46:44","slug":"the-quiet-celebration-of-life-in-linda-etheringtons-paintings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/the-quiet-celebration-of-life-in-linda-etheringtons-paintings\/","title":{"rendered":"The Quiet Celebration of Life in Linda Etherington\u2019s Paintings"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Linda Etherington, “Kindness is More,” 36 x 48 in.<\/p><\/div>\n

Given so many bad stories and ill-will in our national conversation these days, it\u2019s easy to overlook those artists who still want to share their by-no-means-universal appreciation, and even gratitude, for the positive works they witness and the good lives they enjoy, but do not presume to feel entitled to. Linda Etherington is someone who brings a well-filled brush and a fluid wrist to consecrate someone possibly not unlike herself in \u201cWoman Glorified God and Believed.\u201d Anyone inclined to hurry past her artwork should probably take note of two things: the subject\u2019s well-captured, visible discomfort at being observed and the painter\u2019s unconventional notion of what belongs in a painting. True modesty on the one hand, and words on the other. Not just any words, nor necessarily those we’d expect.<\/h4>\n

In “Sipping Sweetness While Humming A Duet,\u201d six wings collaborate to create the music. In \u201cKindness is More,\u201d branches from unseen trees lead the viewer to encounter more than one act of sharing. And in \u201cBalancing on Blueberries,\u201d a table\u2019s rim rises up to set the stage for a skillful songbird. Not every painter learns these devices, or wants to, but the ability to direct attention without calling it to one’s efforts celebrates what the artist has seen in nature rather than misdirecting attention to her. A Delft-blue teapot employed as home for a flowering plant reveals a parallel between two pots in a way that delights the eye, but when a bird and a bee share the nectar, their discovery pleases the ear as well.<\/h4>\n