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Linda Golding

Are all your paintings based on real places, and how do you select locations?

Yes, they are all a record of places I have visited and mostly painted from my own photos, sometimes for a specific purpose. For example, Yorkshire Coast locations for the gallery I work with in Whitby, or my home city Wakefield, a walk in the park or anywhere really. I tend to see everything as a potential painting. Whatever the subject, it’s my policy to create art entirely from my own thoughts, ideas and experiences in my own style. That way I can say my art is 100% my own. 

What influences you to work in acrylic over watercolour and oil? How do your brushes influence this?

I prefer to use acrylic because it’s versatile, convenient, easy to work with and it copes with changes I want to make as the painting develops. I mostly use acrylic ink for its vibrancy and its ability to be used neat or watered down or mixed with white depending on the effect I want. I’ve used watercolours in the past but prefer a bolder and more opaque finish and occasionally experiment with oils which I love for their buttery consistency and the way they blend, but not the length of time they take to dry.


My brushes need to be reasonably firm and springy for me to apply consistent pressure when doing precise line work and also need to withstand a slight scrubbing action I sometimes use when mixing colour on the paper to give the effect I want, for example, the light and dark tones and texture on trees. I mainly use only four brushes, a rigger for line work and detail and three different sized flats depending on the area I’m painting at the time. My Pro Arte brushes work well in every way for me and are a joy to use!

You’ve had a lot of your work turned into merchandise, did this influence what you painted? For example did you paint a more popular place or in different dimensions that you wouldn’t normally, to fit a postcard or mug?

In the case of the three local authority commissions I did several years ago for Wakefield, Pontefract and Leeds, the brief was to include specific buildings or locations for the purpose of promoting tourism through sales of a range of merchandise featuring my artwork.  Dimensions for those needed to be large enough for me to include five buildings and feature small lettering which would still be legible when the image was eventually reduced to the size of a key ring and the shape needed to be rectangular to suit a mug, tea towel etc.  Rectangular wouldn’t normally be my choice as I prefer to use square or letterbox format which I find more pleasing to the eye and by chance suit the gallery’s standard frames, and also blank card stock that I occasionally use to make art cards. Individual commission dimensions and subjects are based on the client’s requirements and are rarely reproduced in print form.

Do you keep your creativity to the studio, if so, why?

I mainly work in my studio as it’s important that I’m able to concentrate and have my materials to hand. I can leave everything in place until I return which helps with continuity especially as I’m inclined to just get up and go if I’ve had enough. An exception is the weekly life drawing and monthly portrait sessions that are held in the studios, where I enjoy spending time with my arty friends and other like-minded people. If I can organise myself I sometimes take some art materials on holiday in case I get a few hours alone to sketch or paint but having people around me generally doesn’t work, too many interruptions, as is working at home.

How would you describe your creative process and where do you start on a piece of art?

My creative process is hard to define as things tend to change as I go along. Basically, I start with a photograph or an idea and do a quick pencil sketch on a scrap of paper within a suitably shaped outline i.e., square/rectangle depending on content. If I like what I see I enlarge it to the size I need, mask around the area, sketch the composition before inking in the lines with a rigger and well watered down ink and then rub out the pencil marks before I start to paint the underpainting that gives my work a 3d effect. The final stage is adding colour. Generally, I have no preference regarding a starting point, it’s just whatever colour or area attracts me at the time unless I need to see if two colours sit well alongside each other or compliment the overall look of the painting as it develops.

How did you get into painting and how long have you been doing it? 

I’m inclined to say a lifetime but considering I can’t remember anything about art lessons at school that wouldn’t be correct, although art must have always been ‘within me’ because I remember (only just, bearing in mind it’s well over fifty years ago!) doing a few random sketches as a teenager which I took to an interview for my first job as tracer with the National Coal Board. Other than that, I had no experience or art qualifications, but it got me the job which served as a kind of apprenticeship and proved to be a good grounding in various aspects of painting including fine detail and line work which went on to feature in my art in later years. I drifted through the decades occasionally dabbling with a random brush and a set of watercolour paints, unaware of acrylics or acrylic inks which I later discovered, and my journey began. My interest in art was rekindled and circumstances allowed me time to focus on developing and improving the style I soon became known for which would have been around fifteen years ago.

Have you got any tips for people wanting to get into art?

Buy the best tools and materials you can afford.

Learn from other artists if you need to but resist temptation to copy ideas or styles if you intend selling your work.

Allow yourself time for your practise to develop and try not to compare your work with other’s or feel dejected if things don’t go right. Artists you admire will more than likely have spent hours/weeks/months or even years developing their style and perfecting their art.

Be patient and content with whatever you create and accept your work will improve over time.

More than anything, believe in yourself and enjoy what you do.

Have you faced any creative challenges and how do you overcome these?

Commissions are wonderful to do but always come with challenges. Each is a test of patience, skill and endurance but confidence grows the more you do as does your ability to overcome them. I’ve done quite a few over the years, the highest on the ‘testing’ list being the three local authority commissions I did several years ago, particularly Wakefield, the first of the three closely followed by Pontefract and Leeds.

As with all things in life, the way to overcome challenges is just to stay focussed, believe in yourself and your abilities and listen to your inner self when it says ‘You can do this!’

What’s a memorable moment from your artistic career?

This has to be the smiles and gratitude I sense at commission handover time.  Lots of memorable moments!

How have you developed your studio?

My studio in Westgate has stayed the same since I moved from the Art House around five years ago. I’m lucky to have lots of space, more than I need, so it never feels crowded or untidy despite having several bits of furniture and storage, each with a specific purpose, so I guess it could be considered planning and evolving rather than developing. It’s important for my workspace to feel right in order for me to feel settled and content when I sit down to paint. Having my art around me plays its part but it’s more about making me feel reassured rather than creative, it’s difficult to explain……a kind of visual comfort blanket.

In terms of balancing my time in the studio, I aim to be there most days but that never happens because my home and family time are more important than my painting, hence the balance is tipped in their favour.

When I am there, I prefer to work alone with no distractions but it’s important that I don’t feel isolated. My studio is in the city centre and has two wonderful windows that connect me to the busy world outside so that in itself is reassuring as well as knowing other artists are somewhere in the building. Even though I rarely see them I know they are there so I’m happy to be alone with the radio or my music for company. A happy and settled mind is a creative mind.

What does a typical art day look like to you?

There is no typical art day.  I’m lucky not to have to rely on my art so I’m pretty relaxed about it these days and have no set routine or time.  I remember the early days when my art was new and my motivation was sky high and I painted every day including weekends because I wanted to. Nowadays I come and go as I please with no commitments other than to continue on this wonderful journey as long as it lasts and while ever people want me to paint for them.

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