Linda Kristin Blix Bio

I was born five hundred miles north of Winnipeg, in The Pas, Manitoba.Wild horses ran in the streets, of this isolated and rustic town. As new parents, their sense of adventure as pilots and my father’s precarious job as a bush pilot, were given up for a more responsible life in the civilization of the city. We moved to Winnipeg when I was an infant, and did not return.

My love of Art has been a lifelong affair. My parents recognized my devotion to art early in my childhood. Later, in a life altering move, I left my home in Winnipeg at fifteen years of age, to attend a school in Minnesota with a strong reputation in visual arts. Upon my return to Winnipeg I attended The University of Manitoba, School of Fine Arts as a painting and printmaking major, before moving to the Toronto area and graduating with honours from the Ontario College of Art and Design in 1997.

I have worked for many years as a professional Artist, utilizing the creative tools of printmaking, painting, drawing, photography, pottery and three-dimensional construction. Combining mediums in an original and unique manner has been my artistic focus and made creating fun! Curiosity and excitement towards the development of new techniques, influenced my own work and made for unusual and creatively satisfying projects. I pass this desire for personal creative innovation onto my students.

My love of colour and strong expressive lines is evident in my work. I have described myself as an eclectic artist, and my work over the years changed and evolved as I did! Exploration of new and exciting techniques has given me an extensive bag of creative tools for my use. It amuses me when the viewer has cause to wonder at the process behind the artwork.

For years, I avoided painting flowers as many other artists have painted them so well. With maturity, I realized you paint what you love, and I love flowers. They represent beauty and growth and are a most precious gift of natural colour. Much of my work is also figurative as humans portray emotions and tell stories best. Humour is another element I try to include in much of my work. It is important to me, not to take myself too seriously and art should reflect the enjoyment of the creator upon the observer.

Printmaking has been my chosen technique ever since doing my first wood cut relief print as a sixteen year old. I am still fascinated by the endless possibilities of all printmaking techniques. I am excited by the ability to make multiples, while enjoying the unexpected, the uncontrolled happenings and the delight as new images are revealed at the last moment. This is what has kept me motivated as a printmaker.

Though I use multiple mediums and subject matter in my work, my passion is figure drawing. The simplicity of materials, the intense focus that eliminates life’s clutter, exploration of the line and the challenges of change are necessary to my artistic well-being. Weekly figure drawing is my 'aerobics for the artist', and important to my creative nurturing.

I am fortunate to have a home studio in both Toronto and Muskoka, and be involved in both creative communities. My long term association with Open Studio, Canada’s foremost printmaking Studio, has given me the opportunity to gain inspiration from exceptional printmakers, and gain a venue to teach and display my art.