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Linda Heslop began drawing in early childhood and is a self-taught
fine artist and illustrator.Her subject matter, executed in a highly realistic style, is closely linked to her life interests. An introduction to caving in the early 1980's led to a period spanning two decades of depictions of caves and the people who dedicate their lives to entering them. The early work is pencil and ink and her portraits of cavers in action have been reproduced as cover art on numerous publications internationally. She has illustrated several books, including Lechuguilla Jewel of the Underground, Beyond Mammoth Cave, childrens books, and she also wrote and illustrated her own book, The Art of Caving, published by Cave Books in 1996. Her cave art was commissioned for the production of the television documentary "Riverbend Cave". She views art and science as interconnected and most of her work features the natural world, often hidden places, such as tidepools or detailed vignettes of stones or waves. Although viewed as formal art many of her works are actually science studies attempting to reveal the beauty of physics or biology, such as that found in a tumbling wave, the way light falls upon stone, or the tenacity of life in the intertidal zone. In cave art she focuses on the caver, the cave itself providing background for what she sees as a fascinating aspect of human nature, that of exploration, especially under challenging conditions. Currently Linda's work has diverted to surface once again due to a rekindled love of watercolour painting. She is represented by Canadian Art Connections who reproduce her work as limited edition prints, posters and art cards which are marketed throughout western Canada and the Pacific Northwest. Linda resides in Victoria B.C. with her husband and daughter. A collection of Linda's surface images are here. |
