Maine-based artist Linda Packard has created a new body of abstract paintings for the Zillman Art Museum’s exhibition Poems I Meant to Write. The show features large-scale works that measure up to six feet—the artist’s largest paintings to date.  While the works are non-objective, Packard states that she “remains strongly informed by her many years as a plein air landscape painter,” and that she, “continues to be drawn to the same organic shapes, rich textures, and earthy palette.” 

Packard’s gestural movements around the canvases are intuitive, her brushstrokes varied and sensitive.  The paintings highlight the physical properties of oil paint as rich surfaces emerge through a series of layers and revision. The artist also uses pigment sticks, charcoal, crayon pencils and graphite to diversify the texture and quality of her marks.  

Sponsors:

This exhibition is funded in part by a grant from the Maine Arts Commission, an independent state agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, and a grant from the City of Bangor Commission on Cultural Development.

Image Credits:

Linda Packard (American, born 1952). When Hope Was Returned to Me, 2023. Oil on canvas. Courtesy of the artist.