Several months ago I was commissioned by the Innis Arden Golf Club in Old Greenwich, Connecticut, to create an historically-inspired painting for their clubhouse. The mandate was to portray the club as it existed at the turn of the 20th century, when it was a 9-hole private course located on Sound Beach (now Tod's Point), at the waterfront estate of J. Kennedy Tod. 

I was unable to travel to the site, so, with limited e-mailed reference material -- a small black and white photograph of golfers Sound Beach in 1901, a copy of a 1900 hand-drawn course map, new color photographs of the Innis Arden Cottage (which is now a community treasure on part of the town beach), and sleuthing on Google Earth -- I developed a plan to place the golfers in accurate perspective to the home and figured out the direction of sunlight  for that location. 

I could take some artistic liberties to help tell the story. I chose the time of day (morning light) and season (late summer/early autumn), taking clues from the golfer's clothing. No one living today would know exactly what the golfers looked like and what specific plantings were around the home.  At the same time, the painting needed to be an accurate impression of the site. Without the historic cottage and a specific pair of entry gates -- the painting could be three golfers anywhere along a coastline.

Over several months, rough sketches and color studies, more photographs and videos created on iPhones were sent back and forth by e-mail with the client.  My very patient husband stood in as a model for the kneeling golfer, as the reference photo was very dark, and I wanted to place him in a different direction to improve the composition.

An online artist friend who lives in a nearby town kindly sent me some of his personal photographs of the area which helped me recheck the colors of sea, sand and sky.

The finished painting measures 30 x 40 inches and will hang in the main entry of the modern-day Innis Arden Golf Club, which is a few miles away from Tod's Point.

Sometime during the next year, I will see it in it's new home and give it a protective coat of varnish.  Some things, you just have to do in person!

MOSS & MOSS is a great "antiques & etcetera" shop in my hometown of Mill Valley, California, owned by a delightful couple with great talents. Larry plays the grand piano and Marjorie creates beautiful vignettes to display the merchandise. One Friday a month they have a jazz and wine reception, and it's a popular place to stop by on the way to dinner in any one of the great restaurants in town. I am very delighted that they have chosen to carry my paintings and prints. It's a treat for me to see how they are displayed, and very exciting to get the phone call saying, "Linda, we sold another one!" Visit MOSS & MOSS at 1 El Paseo, just off Sunnyside Avenue.

We spend a lot of time in the heart of our homes, gathering with family and friends and creating good food and memories. Kitchens are a natural place for art - and not just the masterpieces taped to the refrigerator! Still life paintings of fruit and vegetables are natural subjects for art in the kitchen, but have you ever considered a landscape? 
This beautiful gourmet kitchen in Washington state is the new home for my recent oil study of Mt. Tamalpais. The owner chose a warm cherry frame to complement the cabinetry, and the cool gray-blue color palette of the painting picks up tones in the slate backsplash and the skies of the Pacific Northwest.

Just got the call that another Mount Tamalpais, Richardson Bay print sold!

I am so grateful for the response to this limited edition print of my painting. This giclee is 10 x 20, printed on dense watercolor paper, surrounded with an 8 ply thick mat and framed in a 14 X 24 wood frame.

It is now hanging in homes throughout Marin County and in Colorado, Ohio and Virginia.

There are 7 framed prints remaining in this final, signed edition.

Original art - whether an oil painting, archival print or photographic poster - can help your home express your interests and personality. Here's how some collectors have displayed my art in their homes.