My artistic trajectory began many years ago when I studied fashion illustration and graphic design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City.  Various interests and life circumstances landed me in careers outside of the art world, yet I always managed to find my way back to my artistic self through my sketchbooks and attending life drawing classes.  Inspired by our cats, I started my own greeting card line of cat designs, Teatown Mews Greetings, in the 1990s.  I then spent several years pursuing academic interests, earning a Master’s degree from University of Pennsylvania that led to a short but rewarding career in teaching English as a Second Language to adult immigrants.   Since 2010, I have been able to focus on my favorite artistic endeavor, figure drawing.  I strive always to learn and grow in any subject that captures my interest, and I continue to hone my drawing skills by studying with contemporary master figure artists of the classical tradition.  Most recently I have had the good fortune to study with Robert Liberace of the Art League of Virginia; Juliette Aristides of Aristides Arts; Ja Fang Lu of Studio Incamminati in Philadelphia; and two years of study in an atelier setting at John Murdoch’s Gold Light Studios in New Hope, PA.   Along with figure drawing, I enjoy sketching and creating illustrations for greeting cards, which can be found at my shop at etsy.com/shop/LindaRohneStudio.    And my longtime dream to illustrate a book is now coming to fruition, as I am currently writing and illustrating a story about one of our many beloved pets.  

ARTIST STATEMENT

Drawing the human figure from life inspires me more than any other artistic endeavor.  I see the body as a rich topography that presents infinite variation of form and movement depending on the model, the pose, the perspective, and the light.  In contrast to this fluidity, there is an underlying rhythm of anatomical uniformity. The two elements translate into expressive play and disciplined focus as I re-create the human being in front of me into a two-dimensional form on my paper. 

Illustration taps into a different creative energy and process that is more free and childlike than what I experience when drawing the figure. My early days in fashion illustration classes  sparked that energy and led to a lifetime of sketchbook drawing, where I can draw with abandon whatever is in front of me — people and places and things, all captured in a moment in time.  

EXHIBITIONS

Phillips Mill Juried Art Show, New Hope, PA — 2023, 2022, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2016, 2014, 2013. Award: Artist Exhibiting for the First Time at Phillips Mill Award, 2013 

Wayne Art Center Spring Juried Exhibition, Wayne, PA — 2023

Ellarslie Open 39 — Trenton City Museum, Trenton, NJ — 2022  Award:  Honorable Mention

American Artists Professional League Grand National Exhibition, Salmagundi Club, NY, NY — 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017.   Graphics Award, 2018

Salmagundi Figuratively Speaking Exhibition , Salmagundi Club, NY, NY— 2021

Stover Mill Gallery, Erwinna, PA — 2022, 2019, 2018, 2016, 2015   Award:  Award in Honor of Volunteer Stana Lennox, 2016

Artists of Yardley, Yardley, PA — 2019

Lehigh Art Alliance at Luckenbach Mill, Bethlehem, PA — 2018

Tinicum Arts Festival, Erwinna, PA — 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016.   Awards: 2018 and 2017 Honorable Mention; 2016 3rd Place Other Media Category