{"Id":7725,"Name":"Linda J Schroeter","Biography":"\u003Cp\u003EI won acceptance to the South Australian College of TAFE\u0026rsquo;s Fine Arts \u0026amp; Crafts program in the late seventies but became quite discouraged and dropped out. \u0026nbsp;Still wanting to continue my art studies a few years later I re-enrolled into the TAFE Commercial Art program. Although it was still not ideal this gave me a good grounding in honing my skills and techniques in drafting and discipline.\u003C/p\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003EI worked as a commercial illustrator and graphic designer in the corporate world for over 28 years, and during that time I moved to California\u0026rsquo;s Sonoma County with my husband. I taught myself how to paint with oils and glazes and spent my weekends attending workshops and studying paintings in museums and galleries. An opportunity to travel to Africa and then Central and South America eventually led me to painting wildlife, I wanted to capture the essence of the wild animals and birds, the variety of patterns and textures in their fur and feathers, painting from life studies done in the field overseas and at a local safari park and my photographs. Eventually I rented a studio and began painting full time from life hiring models and working from still life set ups to further hone my skills.\u003C/p\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EStill Life Painting\u003C/strong\u003E inspired by the Dutch and Flemish Masters and painting from direct observation, I developed my technical skills further by studying with various painters working in this method for several years.\u0026nbsp; I love to paint textures and patterns of the animal and natural world and objects associated with wildlife such as nests, shells, feathers and bones but in the Still Life genre I can control content and the interplay of light and form. Each painting begins with an idea that is inspired by an object I have acquired or found, sometimes in reference to a personal experience or the subject has thematic or narrative significance.\u0026nbsp; My intent is to connect emotionally and intellectually with the viewer through the language of realism, beauty and metaphor, to create a noteworthy body of work and follow my passion. \u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMy Studio Project: \u003Cstrong\u003EThe Russian River Atelier\u0026nbsp;\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMy studio, re-named the Russian River Atelier in October 2014, has evolved into my dream of having a true professional atelier where a number of principle artists, students and teachers, could work together producing pieces of fine art. Atelier is the French word for studio, where a student went to study under the direction of a Master Painter. From the middle- ages to the 19th century this was standard vocational practice for European artists.\u0026nbsp; I have been truly humbled by several highly trained and accomplished artist who accepted my invitation to join me into bringing a skill based learning approach in classical drawing and painting to Sonoma County. Having had commercial training in illustration in my college years, I yearned for this comprehensive classical study path which was hard if not impossible to find. Now the atelier has a full offering of classical training.\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMy studio,\u003Cstrong\u003E The Russian River Atelier\u003C/strong\u003E, is located in Santa Rosa, Sonoma County.\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E","Awards":null,"HasAlbums":false,"HasPortraits":false,"HasRelationships":false,"HasArticles":false,"HasDepictedPlaces":false,"HasLetters":false,"HasLibraryItems":false,"HasProducts":false,"HasSignatures":false,"HasVideos":false,"HasMapLocations":false,"TotalArtworks":17}