On Wednesday, Nov. 30, a new exhibit opened for display in Robertas Art Gallery at the University Center. ‘Art of Becoming’ is a new exhibit that features dozens of paintings by artist Sylvia Hall Linton. A reception was held on Dec. 7 with light refreshments for the attendees and a visit from the artist herself.

According to her website ‘Luminous Frog Gallery of Paintings,’ “Linton is a lifelong Wisconsinite who made a living as a college librarian and is now making a life doing art. Only her love of nature has remained a constant and has grown as her understanding has grown. Some may call this art; she calls it expressions of her life and the way she sees the world.” Linton finds inspiration for her art through myths, poems and tales.

“She has been a local artist for most of her life; however, the majority of her work has come in her later years, as she has found more inspiration and fun with art, than when she was young,” Samuel Murnane, student manager at Roberta’s Art Gallery said. “She prefers watercolor, but she is branching out into acrylic and alcohol ink. Her inspiration comes from everyday life and especially from nature. She hopes to inspire others to pursue art more, and she thinks it has helped her express ideas in ways she otherwise could not.”

The exhibit features paintings that display many contents of nature including animals, planets, water and trees. Many of the paintings incorporate a face that is hidden or disguised into the painting in some way. With titles such as “Mother Earth Sleeps in her Green Meadows,” the paintings are of detailed scenery with a hidden meaning that includes a person’s feelings or emotions.

“I love the one of the sort of vague woman figure, looking almost as if she’s in a dream, which is where I met her,” Linton said. “I had gone through a time of searching for answers, trying different spiritual and philosophical paths, and none of them worked for me. Then I had a dream where a woman was looking for a light in the fog, and as I looked at her, a doorway spilling light opened leading inside her, and then another, deeper in, and I awoke thinking, ‘She’s been looking in all the wrong places; it’s inside her.’ I had to paint that dreamlike vision so I would remember it; I titled it ‘The Light Within.’”

The exhibit will be displayed at Roberta’s Art Gallery through January 11, 2023. As finals week wraps up and winter break commences, stop by the University Center to visit the exhibit. To see more work and learn about the artist, visit https://www.luminousfrog.com/experimental-gallery.