Linda Kollacks
The paintings of Linda Kollacks offer a feast of color to delight the eyes and an energy that reflects her passion for painting. Her goal is not just a duplication of the subject before her but rather an imaginative interpretation using the solid painting skills developed over the years.
An early move to Brussels, Belgium, spawned an interest in landscape painting and provided many opportunities for her to paint plein air, a discipline she says cannot be overestimated. “Such exploration not only enriched my art experience but also broadened my life perspective,” Kollacks shares, “and I’m deeply grateful for this.”
Kollacks accepts commissions, teaches portraiture and paints landscapes and still life. “It’s important to see oneself as an artist first, not just a portraitist, otherwise one can so easily become stilted as a painter,” she explains. “What I learn from painting other genres also benefits my portrait work. Each time I begin a painting, I look for something compelling in the subject which drew me to it in the first place, and I try to remain faithful to that immediate creative impulse.”
Kollacks is a member of Portrait Society of America, Oil Painters of America and National Oil & Acrylic Painters’ Society. She is represented by Portraits Chicago in Lake Forest, Illinois, and Curtis Gallery in Libertyville, Illinois.