Linda Deptula

October 2004

Inspiration in life has a way of creating unlimited positive energy. It brings joy and washes away our doubts. The Fox Valley area surrounding St. Charles is an absolutely beautiful area that we live in. The Fox River enhances that beauty. My first painting of the Fox Valley area is the “Hotel Baker Summer” which I’ve just recently completed. It’s an historical landmark that we in the community really appreciate. The Fox Valley itself is an inspiration in our everyday lives. I will continue painting more landscapes of our local area.

I was born and raised in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The U. P. has a great wealth of rivers, streams, forests and of course is surrounded by three of our Great Lakes. The often remote locations of many of our Great Lakes lighthouses and the rugged natural beauty surrounding them have always been a source of inspiration to me.

The technique I use to create my original oil paintings usually includes two or more of the following: Glazing, washes, dryburshing, layering, scumbling, impasto; also, some wet-in-wet applications for subtle variations or some bolder applications. I use a good quality canvas. The canvas is usually a medium texture, cotton duck, double-primed canvas. Often, I tone my canvas with a medium or dark value acrylic paint. This color helps to maintain color consistency throughout the painting. I usually work from the background to the foreground. I try to remain true to the details of the lighthouses and locations that I paint. The position of the sun or moon and the actual lighting and shadows created at those locations are also what I try to capture in my paintings.

Through my oil paintings and prints, I feel I can share the love I have, the inspiration, and the ever changing beauty of our Great Lakes region with you. Perhaps you’ve already visited some of the lighthouses or landscapes that I’ve painted? Through my paintings or prints you can reawaken the memories of being there on the very spot from which my paintings first took form: In an idea and feeling that found expression within myself and completion in an oil painting.

Great Lakes Studio, St. Charles, IL Phone: 847-697-9797

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