Linda Tully
Beaufort, SC
I am intrigued by the regenerative nature of Creation, and am currently exploring God’s eternal presence.
MessageLinda Tully (b 1958 Ontario, Canada) and her husband were living and traveling aboard their 40’ trawler, “Watershed,” in 2017 when this self-taught artist was set on a path to becoming a full-time Abstract Expressionist painter working exclusively in oil and cold wax medium.
Linda’s exhibition history includes solo shows at the Beaufort Art Association and Lipsitz Gallery as well as various regional and local group exhibitions. Her works have been acquired by private collectors and are currently on display in her studio gallery at The Atelier Off Bay in Beaufort, SC.
Linda was introduced to oil and cold wax medium, and to abstract expressionism, through a workshop with Contemporary Artist Rebecca Crowell, and later studied under Artist Grace Carol Bomer. Today, Linda is influenced by the work of Asheville Artist Grace Carol Bomer, who expresses the Biblical narrative in a powerful way, Artist and Gallery Curator Kelly Kruse who shares her studio practices with transparency and humility, and Artist David Mankin for his brilliant use of color to express his surrounding landscape in the UK.
Linda lives and works in Beaufort, SC and can be found weekdays at her studio/gallery downtown, where her passion for meeting and encouraging other visiting artists is nourished. She is active in the local art community, having recently served on the Executive Board of the Beaufort Art Association.
Statement
From childhood, I've always found ways to be creative, whether it was through drawing, staging plays in the backyard with friends, or eagerly anticipating art classes in high school. It wasn't until much later in life, though, that I truly understood my creativity was a gift – something inherent, not something I sought out. This deep-seated urge to express ideas and the world around me, flowing from the very core of my being, eventually gave me the confidence to embrace my dream of being a full-time artist.
Several years ago, my husband and I sold everything and moved aboard a 40’ boat. We traveled up and down the east coast of the US and the Bahama Islands, and it was an incredible opportunity to explore and enjoy the beauty of our surroundings; the sky and the water, and the beautiful beaches and shorelines; the towns and landscapes. Everywhere we went we met really lovely people, but we also witnessed despair and loneliness and poverty. The journey aboard our boat “Watershed” ended after a year and the call to being a full-time artist began.
My work is process driven and I rarely begin a painting with an idea already established. After creating a color palette, intuition takes over and using oil and cold wax mediums, forms and textures quietly emerge from the depths of the layered pigments and wax.
Themes of renewal and hope run through my work and flow out of my deep-rooted faith. My art is a visual exploration of the unseen, inviting the viewer to contemplation and wonder, to joy and discovery.