Linda D’Elia

I had surgery for a nagging ankle problem in September, and was ordered to stay off of it. So what else can I do but paint? Here are 3 of the 9 pieces I produced in less than a month.

Butterflies are still flocking to my late-season zinnias, and before I was ordered off my feet, I was able to photograph a beautiful swallowtail to paint. I love to paint cardinals and chickadees. They are some of my best sellers, so Facebook’s Free Animal Reference Photos for Artists provided the basis for Red & Green and Chickadee’s Breakfast.

If you are in the Greenville area, my work is featured in two places: Gallery One Greenville, at 640 S. Main St in downtown Greenville, and at Westside Market, 3510 Augusta Rd, Greenville.

While casting about for an idea for one of my latest 6″x6″ animal paintings, I was listening to the Radiolab podcast about an astrophysicist who buried her husband’s ashes at sea. That reminded me of my late mother’s request to be buried at sea. We did that 2 years ago. Following the casting of the ashes, as the boat headed in to the dock, a pod of dolphins started escorting us. We watched as they stopped and strand-fed along the shore. It was a special moment, and inspired me to paint this dolphin. Photo credit to Mick Buxton in the Free Reference for Animal Artists on Facebook.

I had the pleasure of visiting Cape Cod, MA for the first time in over 40 years to attend my niece’s wedding. The double pleasure was renting an air bnb with my brother, the globe-trotting professional photographer. Besides attending the fun wedding activities, we spent time exploring the Cape (his first time there) and taking pictures. I got some great material for paintings, of course! The first one (above left), is Highland Light, a classic lighthouse of New England. The second (left) was a darling, classic Cape Cod cottage with it’s weathered shingles, set in a beautiful garden accented with pink flamingos.

I was fortunate to be able to attend the Plein Air Festival in New Bern, NC, and participate in a workshop with the talented Shannon Kunz in May, 2025. I learned a lot in the class that should help me improve my Plein Air painting. Above were two that I painted outdoors.

I feel sick and frightened these days when I see what is going on in Washington, DC. I am torn between needing to understand what is going on in our government, so I can be an educated citizen when I go to vote, and needing to protect my mental health by not over-consuming the fire-hose worth of shocking info coming to us instantaneously every moment of the day.

I have been painting birds, baby animals and beautiful landscapes, keeping my mind occupied and creating things with positive energy for people to collect in order to make their surroundings more peaceful and happy.

This is Indigo (Bunting) and Sun, a 12″ x 12″ oil painting on canvas, photo credit to Daniel Riddle.

I’ve spent a lot of time over the past few months developing these little 6″x6″ animals on abstract backgrounds. I’m combining my love of realism and abstraction together, and collectors are responding!

Most of these are available at Gallery One, Greenville (640 S Main St, downtown Greenville). The hedgehog was one of two that were commissioned. If you have a special spirit animal you would like me to paint, send me an email at [email protected].

Suburban Sunset, oil on canvas, showing at the Pickens Museum.

After moving to the Greenville, SC area in April, I have jumped in to the local art scene with both feet!

I currently have a painting hanging at the Greenville Center for Creative Arts Member show, a number of pieces at Gallery One Gvl in downtown Greenville, and an upcoming group show at the Pickens Museum of Art & History in Pickens, SC. I’m enjoying the fellowship of other artists through participation in the Plein Air Carolinas group, which meets once a month in various locations around the SC upstate to paint outdoors.

The artists I’ve met are so friendly and generous with their help in getting established in the art scene in the Upstate. This has been a great move!

New work in a new gallery in a new town! I have joined Gallery One in downtown Greenville, SC, near where I now reside in Simpsonville, SC. Currently I have some abstract work exhibiting. I have been interested in figuring out how to combine my abstract work with my love of realistic work, so here is the result. Check out either the “Small Works” or “Nature” section of this website to see the series.

Baby Brooklyn was a challenge to paint because the reference photo didn’t show her complete legs and feet. This is the first time I had to make up parts of the person’s body! This was commissioned as a surprise birthday present for my client’s husband.

Heron in Azalea Park (Summerville, SC) was painted to support the Summerville Artist Guild’s art scholarship program. We are selling 10×10 paintings (on view at the Coastal Coffee Roasters in Summerville) in order to fund our scholarships for a couple of Summerville high school students. The paintings are also available through the summervilleartguild.net website. They are priced at a very affordable $125 each!

I’m thrilled to announce that I am the Guest Artist at Art on the Square in Summerville, SC through Jan 31, 2024. I will be doing a painting demo there on December 16 from 12 – 4. Stop and say hi if you are in the Nexton area that day!

I am excited to be participating in the Park Circle (Charleston) Art Walk on Oct 14, 2023 from 11 am – 5 pm. I will be with other artists at the Lancaster Rd location. There is event parking with shuttle busses that go to all of the locations around Park Circle where artists will be set up. I will be at booth #49. Please stop by and say “hi”, if you attend!

Also, I was just invited as a Guest Artist to show my work at the Art on the Square Gallery in Nexton (Summerville) for 3 months, starting November 1.

Last, but not least, the Summerville Artist Guild is holding an art auction at Coastal Coffee Roasters in Summerville from November 4 – December 19. There will be over forty 10″x10″ canvases, painted by Summerville Artist Guild members, available. All are priced at $125 each, a real bargain. This is our fundraiser to fund a scholarship fund, awarded to Summerville area high school students who attend accredited art college programs. My canvas, Heron at Azalea Park, will be amongst the canvases available for sale.

Cooling Off won 3rd place at the Berkely County (SC) Art Guild’s Annual Exhibition! This painting is based on a photo I took at the Salt River in Arizona when I visited there with my photographer brother, Rick D’Elia. It was breathtaking to see these wild horses up close, hanging out and cooling off in the river!

Recently a collector contacted me to do a portrait of herself and her father. She sent me a really nice selfie of her adult self and her Dad. I sketched the preliminary drawing. Then she contacted me and said her father had a favorite picture of the two of them washing his old El Camino when she was a young child, and they’d rather I painted that. I was surprised she didn’t want a picture with faces! If you look at this image, the whole story is there. This was the first time I ever painted a car. The original photo was blurry, so I googled El Camino, and found some good photos of this old vehicle to use as reference.

I recently completed a commissioned portrait of a great grandfather and his great grandson. The great grandmother was very happy with it, and hung it in an honored place in their home. The grandmother of the baby cried when she saw it, and the great grandfather stops and looks at it when he passes it. The mother of the child thought it was a canvas print of the reference photo, and has asked me to do another one with the parents and child. This is why I paint! To bring that kind of joy to 3 generations of family just makes my heart happy!

My daughter and fellow artist, Emily Devine, and I were accepted to a 1-week Artist Residency at Mission Street Arts, in Jemez Springs, New Mexico, in July 2022. We were, indeed, enchanted by the gorgeous scenery, from which we took inspiration, and together we painted four 16″x 20″ paintings. We each painted part of all 4 paintings, collaborating on what should appear in the work. Our styles are quite different; mine is more impressionistic, hers is more graphic. We explored the area and decided to paint the view outside of the residency + local plants, the Red Rocks, The Gilman Tunnels, and the Battleship Rock. All of these pieces are available, email me if you are interested (each artist gets 1/2 of the price, which is $450 per canvas + shipping. (Each piece is on gallery-wrapped 1 inch canvas)

After we completed our paintings, we taught a class on our collaborative techniques, to members of the community. We got rave reviews, especially since my daughter has also performed as a stand-up comedian. We really enjoyed interacting with the class and found the reception in Jemez Springs extremely warm and friendly.

We really appreciated the hospitality of Billy Ehret, Eva Murphy, and Devin Williams at Mission Street Arts. We hope to apply to future art residencies together in other locales.