Artwork and Text by Linda Jensen
I want to show aesthetic beauty and the unnoticed, unusual stories that catch my eye and my imagination. I am concerned about human beings losing perspective in our forward momentum as we try to change our consumerist ways and learn to care for the Earth and all the life it supports. I hope to be a better human, to spend my days learning and effecting a smaller imprint. I don’t think my brain can quite comprehend the power of healing and life that is woven all around us.
Shamineau (pastel)
Along the north shore between Lake Superior and the highway, are glacial potholes, an interesting geological feature, with varieties of trees in the woods. In this beautiful place I imagine stepping into my ancestors footprints, walking among the birches.
Whose Woods Are These?
Watercolor
click on the painting to see it full size
A fresh winter blanket covers us with a warming chill. We survive & thrive winter partly by breathing it in and letting it refresh us from the inside out. Don’t extremes make us stronger?
Once Upon a Prairie
Watercolor
In 1981, while wandering around the prairie somewhere in South Dakota I came across this small abandoned house on the edge of a field. It was enticing to explore and to wonder what life was like for the folks who lived there.
Bittersweet Shadow
Watercolor
click on the painting to see it full size
A lace curtain casts a gossamer-like shadow in the room, displaying a filmy, fleeting layer under a gathering of bittersweet pinned to the wall, lasting only a few moments before the sun sets below the windowsill.
Taos Neighbor (pastel)
click on the painting to see it full size
The adobe homes in New Mexico look like they grew right out of the ground. Respect and humility come to mind, observing the evidence that for many thousands of years, humans existed, using the resources from the earth with reverence and restraint, creating sacred spaces to survive, grow and thrive.
Oak by Walnut
Walnut Ink, quilt pen
click on the painting to see it full size
When squirrels have left the outer shells of black walnuts, the shells can be gathered and slow cooked in water for a day or so. This makes a beautiful warm brown ink. As in former times, we can still make many of the materials we use, and that in itself is an art.
Nesting Instinct
Watercolor
click on the painting to see it full size
While living in South Dakota, I explored empty wind worn homes that stood like a period at the end of an era. There was always a romanticized ‘Little House in the Prairie’ hangover from these discoveries, though I know it must have been a hard life, the etching of that life sat like a silent secret in chipped paint and weather worn wood-lap siding.
Although the home was abandoned by humans, a bird found a way to create a home in the window sill.
French Laundry
Watercolor
click on the painting to see it full size
I visited an amazing woman named Mandy, who spent most of her life living on a yacht, tooling around the world. She had so many stories! She is now in her 70’s and lives in a country house in the Lot region of France. This image of her laundry line struck me as an element of a simple, functional life surrounded by unmanicured beauty of the country landscape.
Barnyard
watercolor
click on the painting to see it full size
This scene is warm and worn, work and the land, basic as butter; icons of the Midwest landscape.
Winter hill
Watercolor
click on the painting to see it full size
The hill offers a high horizon line, setting a vantage point to observe trees and sumac silhouettes against the sky, highlighting seasonal changes.
Meet Alice
Charcoal
This little gal was so friendly and curious!
Dog Day
Pastel
click on the painting to see it full size
An ode to Norman Rockwell, this was a compilation of several shots I took (illegally I’m sure) from the car driver’s seat. I think the image says it all: There is pure joy in smelling the air and letting your ears and lips flap in the breeze.
If you are interested in my work, you can contact me at: insightarty@gmail.com
Linda Jensen
