When Life Interrupts your Art, Go with the Flow

In 2014, California artist Linda Ryan was faced with preparing for an upcoming solo exhibition with her painting hand in a cast.  Rather than cancel, she chose to move away from the abstract figurative work she is known for in her region and challenged herself with creating art using gravity, flow and Liquitex Pouring Medium, to capture luminous “stopped” movement.

Ryan bought the biggest rubber gloves she could find, cut the sides and duct-taped them over her cast.  She ordered gallons of Liquitex Pouring Medium, mixed it with the paint, then poured, tilted, turned, and poured some more.  Having tested pouring medium on plexiglass, polyethelene sheets and wood for over two years paid off.

“It’s not an easy medium,” says Ryan, “it is milky while it’s workable.  You have to have a good visual memory to recall what is on the underlayers, understand how your pigments react in the medium, and stop it at just the right time to create a strong composition.”  But, she adds, when it works, they come alive with motion and depth.  And when it doesn’t work?  Ryan adds another layer, or two, or three, or sands them down and starts again.

Ryan will be traveling to London to exhibit her newest art in an exhibition she entitled flow2.0 as the next installment in the series.  You can find her work at the Parallax Art Fair at the Old Chelsea Town Hall, King’s Road, the last weekend in July (parallaxaf.co). 

For those interested in learning the process, Ryan will offer a video demonstration on her website at www.lindaryanfineart.com this Fall.  Sign up there, or follow Ryan on Facebook at /lindaryanfineart, and Twitter @lindaryanart.