Local artist, Linda Hansen-Redamonti, currently has on display at La Zingara 7 paintings from her ‘Sky Series’.
Bethel Arts has partnered with the restaurant to bring the work to the public. Hansen-Redamonti, born in Northern California, was drawn as a young painter to sky patterns in the short spring and fall seasons.
“There's a lot of farmland in Northern California. The skies are beautiful. It’s really open because of the farmlands. There are beautiful little roadmap patterns, maybe one or two ornamental trees with a row of crops but a big sky.”
But seasonal brilliance is short-lived in California compared to Connecticut, where the artist has lived for many years, first in Trumbull before moving to Bethel 11 years ago.
California has, “two weeks of spring and fall is three weeks,'' with little seasonal changes year-round. “All the four seasons are great. People in Connecticut who grew up here tend to be a little negative about the winter but I love the winter. It’s beautiful. I notice the bark of the trees, more notice the shapes,” she said in an interview.
Hansen-Redamonti works mainly in watercolors and acrylic. The mediums suit her work style, she shares in an artist’s bio. “They are quite different in their application and reaction to water, each provides maximum expression of color in different ways, creating the desired effect,” she says. “The transparent quality of watercolor is an excellent vehicle for capturing subtle nuances of light; and the brilliance of the opaque acrylic paint lends itself to dramatic color contrasts as colors interact with each other on the canvas.”
Nature inspires her colorful work, and is where ideas surface, Hansen-Redamonti said. She is drawn to “compositions and themes,” for these “allow for the juxtaposition of opposing
colors from the color wheel.”
Her body of work, mainly landscapes, is impressionistic in style. Her recent garden paintings are inspired by photographs she took at Skytop Lodge in the Poconos.
La Zingara will host a public opening reception with the artist on Sunday April 28 from 5 to 7 p.m. (8 P.T. Barnum Square, Bethel, Conn.)
The sky series are very colorful, dramatic paintings that exemplify her experience working with complimentary color and movement.
There are four large paintings and three smaller ones.
The Grapevine asked Hansen-Redamonti what she hoped people would see, think, or feel and what she is trying to convey when she creates art.
Her reflective response focused on the central theme of complimentary colors:
“I don't necessarily stay in realistic colors. I like to reinterpret colors, but if I see an amazing sunset or sunrise, I will borrow colors and ideas and shapes definitely for those,” she expanded.
For her, the sky, particularly from her Bethel home, is dreamy, particularly for someone drawn to the sensitivity of color schemes.
The local outdoor pool season has special significance for her as well. “One of my favorite things to do is look at the sky while I’m swimming,” the artist said.
Connecticut brings a show most days that piques her interest simply by the whims of New England’s ever-evolving weather. Morning hues and bright colors juxtaposed by afternoon can change dramatically in little transition time.
“I think the sky is such a great subject matter because it's something that we see every day. And it's something that moves and changes and carries so much emotion. I think people just fail to really look at it. I love looking at the sky,” Hansen-Redamonti elaborated.
“My paintings are reinterpreting the sky and I always want movement in my paintings. You know there is a big movement in the Connecticut sky.”
“Eastern seaboard weather changes so quickly. The skies are dramatic here. The California skies are beautiful as well. But here they’re a little more dramatic.”
Darkness brings a different nuance to the subject matter, she continued.
“The night skies are beautiful because they're filled with luminous clouds. The moon lights it up, lights up the clouds. They'll have literally the silver lining that you always hear about.
So I think the skies and Connecticut are amazing.”
When she lived in Trumbull it was a woodsy part where she, “Didn’t see the sky as much. Bethel seems to be more open and where I live it is wide open.”
Hansen-Redamonti’s artwork has also been featured at Byrd’s Books
She said she’s grateful to La Zingara for showcasing this series. Viewers can peruse her recent garden series and body of work on her website.
An English literature major, Hansen-Redamonti has taught in New Haven and is a freelance teacher, writer, and watercolor painter.
“I love to teach writing. I teach all ages and I'm doing Zoom classes and then also live classes.”
Call or text Linda Hansen-Redamonti about the classes at 203-543-4128.
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