Artist Bio
Lynda Fay Braun creates what she refers to as digital paintings by enhancing photographs on the computer that were taken on walks around the preserve where she lives in Southwest Florida. She brings to her artwork a sensibility developed over a lifetime of painting and years of meditation plus a year spent with her spiritual teacher in India.
To find order and a sense of spirituality in the chaos of life drives her artistic research. This has taken her process from creating large paintings to the more recent mixed media work. Ms Braun spent her early years between the rugged environment of the Adirondacks and the museums of New York City. A natural attraction toward the ineffable combined with an affinity towards nature and an independent spirit compelled her to seek a life in art.
After undergraduate studies at Cooper Union School of Art, and an MFA in Painting from Cornell University, Lynda received a residency at the Wurlitzer Foundation in Taos, NM. There she continued an informal mentorship with artist, Agnes Martin, well-known for her minimalist grid paintings. This relationship, which continued until Martin’s passing, served as a touchstone for Braun’s approach to art.
Lynda’s paintings and prints are in numerous corporate, and public collections including the Neiman Marcus Collection, The Ritz Carlton Collection, Naples Art Insitute, Naples, FL, and Cornell University Permanent Collection. Ms Braun’s digital work from 2016 to present, was on view at BIG ARTS (Barrier Island Group) Cultural Center on Sanibel Island, FL. 8/22-7/23. Furthermore, her work can be viewed in Santa Fe at Form and Concept Gallery. Lynda currently resides in Naples, Florida.
Artist Statement
My photographs are a combination of realism and expressionism. I focus on key elements found in nature: the inherent order in chaos and unstoppable verdancy. Formally, my compositions reflect the abstract qualities found in the structural beauty of tropical plants.
My role as an artist is to create a sense of wonder and surprise. I use natural elements in such a way that they become purely line, color and abstract form, evoking human emotion. The dynamic content found in this reductive mode is further expressed through the magic of Photoshop. I create expression for and about the human experience using this remarkable software.
Like meditation, with my camera in hand, I maintain a daily practice that deeply connects me to the physical beauty around me. When I photograph elements that catch my eye, I’m saying, “Thank you,” not only for the existence of my subject but for life itself.
For me, photography is employed as an essential method for visualizing time, capturing light, mapping space, and recording the indexical trace. In this collection of lens-based works, I collaborate with natural forces to express my deep and personal appreciation of landscape and light. In many ways, nature remains uncontrollable. With traditional painting compositions in mind, I use calm but invigorating colors, The resplendent tropical light radiates from the prints, drawing one into vibrant aqueous colors and translucent depths.
For a complete explanation and description of my process and examples of my recent works, click below.
