Natural progression led artist to ‘another dimension’

Painter Linda Christine has stepped bravely into the unknown, allowing her to be led by the creative spirit. Her work is dreamy, full of peace and longing. She paints natural earth and water formations, unnatural worlds and weather patterns, and ancient looking structures that seem to float.

Christine uses acrylic paint in bright, soft and warm colors on canvas. Mixing building materials and an acrylic medium into the paint adds texture. Ethereal figures or human symbols are sculpted onto her paintings and contain movement and emotion.

Pleasing to the eye or perhaps the soul, her work draws viewers in with its futuristic feel. She calls her current approach “another dimension.”

“We are seeking peace and beauty and a remembering. I am bringing a sense of that with these paintings from ‘another dimension,’ ” she said, “Bringing a sense of wonder, beauty, or even conflict fires the imagination. It makes us think and wonder and suppose, and, most importantly, imagine.”

Her journey began at age 6 when she began doing flip animation books on pads of paper. From then on she excelled in art classes, earning A’s even though many of her teachers could not categorize her style. Even then her work caused eyebrows to raise. In college, she became discouraged. She married and raised two boys, quitting painting altogether for 20 years.

Encouraged by her mother, she began painting again and the rest fell into place. She moved from her native California to Arizona, where she immediately found a place in the art scene. For the next 11 years, she showed and sold her work steadily in California and Arizona. Her style then was realistic and impressionistic, done in oil or watercolors. She won awards and made a name for herself as an artist.

Her subjects went from landscapes and florals, to angels, to what she does now, which to her seemed like a natural progression.

“I feel like I’m here to present my work and say, ‘Wake up,’ ” she said. “I’m an information gatherer and a giver. We need to support each other and lift consciousness.”

Five years ago, she boldly moved into “another dimension” with the desire to “illustrate the human quest for a heightened knowledge of life” and reach out to others.

Eight months ago, Christine followed her instincts and made another bold move to Otis Orchards and a state she had never been to. She has settled in and paints in a room meant to be a formal dining room.

Already 11 area shows of her work have been scheduled, including her one-woman show at Empyrean Coffeehouse at 154 S. Madison St. The show will run through September with an opening reception Sept. 1 from 5 to 9 p.m. when she also will be signing her coffee table book called “Another Dimension.”

The book describes her journey and contains photos of her work. “I wish to be of maximum service to people. I want everybody to connect, not just a few.”