Linda D. Berkley is an artist and arts educator based in the Pacific Northwest working in drawing, painting, and mixed media since 1986. Linda studied fine art at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and received her MFA at the University of Arizona, Tucson. She has artwork in public and private collections, exhibits regionally, nationally, and online at lindaberkley.com.
Linda D. Berkley has retired as the art department chair and a tenured studio art faculty at Everett Community College, WA (2005–2023) and Portland Community College for over 10 years prior. She continues to teach art workshops periodically that celebrate the passions and skills of creativity.
I remain profoundly moved by my experiences in Iceland as a NES Artist-in-Residence in 2015 and at present. My exposure to the striking scale and scope of the Icelandic landscape and experience of its influence on Icelandic culture and its artistic perspectives has become an underlying thread in my artwork. I found the welcoming community and dynamic exchange between the artists-in-residence supportive and expansive to my studio practice.
‘Angelica Life Cycle’ (in process) conte/paper, 56″ x 17″ 
‘Holdfast Bloom’ conte/paper, 18″ x 12″ 
‘Beyond the Birdhouse, Hofni Cliffs’, watercolor/paper, 11” x 15” 
‘Skagastrandarvegur Portraits’ acrylic on driftwood, 3” x 30 
‘House Paintings, Skagastrond’ (upper) mixed media collaboration with Ada Cruz (lower) acrylic on driftwood, 2.5″ x 14.5″ x 1″ 
Icelandic Church’ acrylic on driftwood, 5.5″ x 4″ x 1″ 
‘Seaweed Elegy’ Rozome (resist dye painting)/silk, 17” x 12” 
‘Kelp Bodies’ Rozome (resist dye painting)/silk, 20.5” x 11” 
‘Angelica, Leaf Emerging’ (in process) pigment/silk, 19.5” x 15.5”
During my residency, I anticipated contrasting the intimacy and vastness of this land at an experiential level through my art work. I began with intensive drawing and watercolor studies inspired by nature, following my observations as they translate into visual pattern, symbol, and expression—becoming a correspondence between my inner and outer world.
My recent focus on rōzome (ろう染め) and katazome (型染め)—Japanese resist dye and pigment painting—celebrates the complexity of color and form of the sea and the landscape. My awareness of scale has manifested into local house “portraits” on driftwood.
I find my intentions echo those of 10 years ago. I hope to blend the presence of observation with my artistic response to the specific sense of place I find in Iceland and within the Skagaströnd community.