Linda D’Elia

I entered a competition in July entitled, “What Does America Mean to You?” I thought about all the things it means to me, including the strife we are experiencing now. I decided that I would rather paint the beauty we can find in the country, and the song about “from sea to shining sea” came to mind. So I set up 4 scenes across this great country, meant to look like 4 old-fashioned snapshots. This narrative starts in the upper right corner with the sea on the California coast. Next we see the waves of amber grain in Nebraska. Bottom left is the Blue Ridge Mtns, near my home in Simpsonville, SC. Finally, I included a lighthouse up in Cape Cod. This painting is still available.

My first in the Farm Animals in the House series was the Lamb in the Library, a lamb sitting on a stuffed chair in a library. This led to Chicken in the Kitchen, above, and next, Goat on the Grand Piano (on the landing page of my website). I am now working on a pig in the pantry. I could go on and on with these, I’m having a lot of fun. They are a small, collectible size (5″x7″ or 8″x8″). The lamb and chicken will appear and be available at the Table Top show at 1885 Taproom in Simpsonville on September 11.

I had the pleasure of participating in the Plein Air Magazine Publisher’s Invitational outdoor painting event in early February 2026. We painted in various places around Savannah, GA, Bluffton, SC and Hilton Head, SC. The event was extremely well organized; I would recommend attending any of their events if you get the chance. We were in the marshes, the marina, at the seashore, in the old town of Savannah, and in a park with a fabulous white fountain (I traded that painting for a book that another artist wrote).

It’s the second time I’ve had the chance to just paint for a week, what could be better? Well, the weather could have been better, it was in the 40’s the first couple of days of the week, but we persisted (with a heavy sweatshirt, two coats, ear muffs, a scarf, and fingerless gloves). A trip to Dick Blick art supplies helped assuage the discomforts of painting out in the cold.

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.