Linda Storm
Linda Storm is an American artist living in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She is an advocate of equal rights, and diversity in the arts. Her visionary, mythical realism portrayed in her surreal paintings are parables that bring to light important contemporary issues about equal rights, social structures, belief systems, our relationship with nature, and political power.
Please tell us more about your background and how you began creating art?
I grew up exploring nature in the small historic village of Alden, New York. During winter, I read enchanting stories about goddesses. They made me feel empowered in a world full of male privilege. Whenever I had blank paper, which was rare, I drew the divas I imagined in those tales.
Today, as a professional artist, all of my art is inspired by my experiences in nature, with music, and the divine feminine from ancient global cultures.
What does your art aim to say to the viewers?
My paintings are parables that begin conversations about how our beliefs affect gender roles, social structures, political power, and our relationship with nature.
People interpret my art from their own perspective, from where it fits into their own reality. It’s subjective and relative to each individual.
Do you have an essential philosophy that guides you in your creative expression?
My wonder. We are together, right now, rotating on a living orb revolving around a star. Feel it?
What art marketing activity do you put into practice regularly that works most successfully for you?
Throw it out there and see what sticks, and then communicate with those it stuck with. If people want to live with my art, I will help make that happen. I’ve made individualized payment plans, advised where to display it, and have prints and cards for framing. I also offer periodic discounts on my website. I am planning to open a public art center for music and art events. It will hold my studio/gallery and my husband’s radio studio, with his massive record collection. His radio show is heard globally. We have a vision to link a diverse worldwide family through the arts and radio. You can find out more on our website TheStormHold.com
Can you tell us about the process of creating your work?
I begin with an idea and a rough sketch. Then, with complete trust in my skills, I create a visual story that never existed before. Like magic, it unfolds before my eyes. I am hyper alert and detached at the same time, completely open and vulnerable. Anything can affect my creation. Once, I felt a presence behind me. I turned and saw a humming bird fluttering its wings at a standstill outside my window, watching me. I worked its portrait into my art. We were one, that bird and I.
How much planning goes into each artwork?
My whole life is behind every painting I create. The development of each piece runs through my mind constantly, it permeates my dreams, and it gets me up in the morning.
What’s the essential element in your art?
The neurons in my brain spark with new connections when I feed them ideas. That helps me make sense of the world. I keep plenty of art supplies so the process flows. I often use rainwater and earth pigments as a reminder that everything I create with is a gift from Earth.
What is your daily routine when working?
My work involves spending a lot of time on my computer writing and submitting my art, and completing interviews. I keep my works in progress within site, so they tempt me away from the screen.
When traveling, I work with photos of my incomplete works by utilizing various drawing and editing apps. My life is anything but routine. I am always creating. It is how I understand life.
