Linnea Strid: Water Works

Linnea Strid’s artwork evokes feeling and emotion from its viewers. The artist  accomplishes this by using one of the basic needs that is essential for survival. It isn’t shelter or food…Linnea chose water as an element to entice viewers with her photorealistic artwork. Linnea is based in Stockholm, Sweden and the type of art that she practices isn’t prevalent in her country.

“We have a pretty cool and vibrant art scene going on here but not so much photo realistic stuff yet-at least not that I’m aware of. People are still a bit hesitant about this artform, around here but I have a feeling there will be more of it in the near future…,” said Linnea in an Argot & Orche interview.

According to reports Linnea always knew that she had a love for art even as a child. She was born in Sweden but her family relocated to Southern Spain where she developed her love for art. In a Broad Street Studio interview, Linnea describes a time that she could not express herself through art as being quite painful. 

“The will to paint and express my creativity has been there as long as I can remember. There was a period when I was a bit confused and wondered what I wanted to do with my life, so I decided to study languages at the University. Then I realized that I really wanted and needed to be an artist. It was almost painful not getting the time to paint and do other creative things.”

Her niche is painting photorealistic paintings. At times you have to do a double take to decipher whether you’re looking at a painting or an actual photo. Her drawings of people drinking water, washing their hands or submerging themselves in the liquid looks so real that you can almost feel the action that is taking place. Even the titles of her paintings encourage you to think about what is taking place before you. Her painting titled “Quiet,” includes a woman laying peacefully under water with her eyes closed. She looks to be well-relaxed and comfortable in this state. Another great painting by the artist is called “Crooked Smile,” this piece shows a distorted image of a another person underwater. After I analyzed the photo for a few moments I came to the realization that this person’s image maybe unclear because a raindrop may have fell into the pool of water that the subject is buried under.

Linnea said one of the great things about art is the fact that it can be interpreted in a variety of ways.

“Understanding is highly overestimated, I don’t see it in terms of right or wrong or understanding the real message of an artwork. Art simply means different things to different people, and that’s what’s so good about it,” she said.

Linnea absorbs inspiration from all types of things. She told Broad Street Studio that she gets inspired by all sorts of events and many trivialities also become fascinating, and at time she gets a little carried away.

“Sometimes I get obsessed with trying to portray things that I feel no one is noticing. I often try to convey my own emotions and happenings in my own life, but sometimes I escape as far away as possible from myself. This usually happens when I fantasize about macabre, nasty things that I really can’t identify myself with at all.”

-Jaya Franklin