Linda Otterman - Zeilen in ruig weer

Sailboat in rough weather
y acrylic on canvas, with mixed techniques, 70x90 cm.

Wind, Air and Water. Space! Sails Wind, Air and Water. Breath and space. Tackling close-hauled and running with the wind.
Sailing is challenging. Even if you prepare as well as you can, you never quite know what the weather will be. Sometimes you heel a lot and cut through the water like a needle, which can be challenging or almost frightening. Especially on open and rough seas. Sometimes the wind dies away and you have to be very patient to reach where you want to be.
Beautiful metaphors for the course of your life!

Yes, I like to experiment with color and techniques, and I see symbolism in everything.
I am Linda Otterman, born in 1964, living in Zeist, the Netherlands.
From an early age I engaged in drawing and sketches. I began painting at the age of 25. After studying at various art institutions and with different artists, I paint in groups or in my own studio. I share my knowledge and expertise in workshops or drawing lessons and exhibit in various places in the Netherlands.

I pick the themes for my paintings from all around: something that intrigues me in a conversation, a thought, an article, something in the garden, on the street, in terms of color, or light, or the deeper layers behind everything. Something that occupies me, what I see or experience or that touches my own life or that of another.
I have a broad interest in the world around me. I like to look at the positive side and find a deeper thought in all kinds of ‘ordinary’ events or images. That results in paintings full of wonder about flowers or nature or a beautiful composition and light in a landscape. I want to capture movement and light. But you also see the combination of space-constraint, light-dark in many paintings. People, spirit, beauty, strength, grief and emotions such as sadness, anger and joy are also fascinating subjects that continually inspire me. The different ways of “being” in life, and the influence that that has on one’s own and others’ experiences of life. I enjoy painting them from figurative to abstract.

For many years I worked mostly with watercolors. In recent years the emphasis has been on acrylic, and/or mixed techniques.
Although watercolor is a difficult technique because you can hardly correct due to its transparency, I still enjoy working with it. It is unique in its spontaneous and surprising effects that water and pigments give together when you manage it well. It is never completely predictable what will come out, and I also find it a challenge to work with a lot of color in my watercolors.
Acrylic can be used in many ways. It is water-soluble and I regularly use watercolor techniques there as well. Layer by layer, the search with brushes and paint to achieve a certain impression, and the short drying time between layers, is the allure of working with acrylic. Materials such as thin paper, salt or sand can also be used under or in the paint. That “layering” often plays a role in the texture, the “skin” of the painting. This provides exciting effects, it works quickly, allowing me to work more expressively. That is why I currently gravitate toward this technique.

Painting remains exciting and draws me strongly. You are always in a process. Perhaps I will paint differently again in ten years, although you will certainly keep your own “handwriting.” This art form is, for me, a burden and a delight. A burden to vent ideas and emotions; a great delight when that succeeds!

I hope to move people with my paintings. Either because they simply enjoy them, or because they recognize pieces of themselves in them.