Bio
Linda Finnerty lives in Sarasota, Florida and Concord, Massachusetts. She summers in Narragansett, Rhode Island. Linda is a retired Special Education teacher from Concord-Carlisle High School in Massachusetts. Graduating in 1976 with a Liberal Arts Degree from Rhode Island College (Fine Arts major/Art History minor) she went on to receive a Masters in Education in 1999 from Lesley University. Teaching for 25 years, Linda holds three teacher licenses, two in Special Education and one in Art Education. Before teaching in Bedford, Lexington, and Concord, Ma, Linda, was a graphic designer at Fern-Hannaway Advertising, Inc. in Providence, RI and an art director in Natick, Ma. She later became the sole proprietor of a graphic design business that serviced the Boston area. She currently teaches at the Art Center Sarasota.
Ten years ago, Linda started an exuberant journey back to painting. This was inspired by her son with autism. Untrained, J.B., blossomed into an abstract artist who currently shows at Gateway Arts in Brookline, MA. Watching him paint intuitively lured her back into the creative process. The feel of paint, the life of color and the puzzlement of composition drove me and continues to lead her through multiple expressive directions. After moving to Sarasota and becoming involved in the Art Center, she suddenly felt herself surrounded by a rich and infinitely creative environment. This transition has sparked a new vitality in her work. Linda’s dream is to someday have an exhibition with her son, J.B.
Linda’s work has won several awards and has been shown in juried shows in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Shows include: The Wickford Art Association, Wickford, RI, The Umbrella Community Arts Center, Concord Ma, Three Stones Gallery, West Concord, Ma, The Gallery at Villageworks, Acton, Ma and The Hopkinton Center for the Arts, Hopkinton, M, The Art Center, Sarasota, Florida and Women’s Contemporary Artists Members Show, Sarasota, Florida. Solo shows have been held at the Emerson Hospital Gallery, Trinity Church, and The Harvey Wheeler Center in Concord, Ma. Her work has also been featured at Rapscallion Restaurant in Acton, Massachusetts.
CV available upon request
AWARDS
Going Green (2 pieces accepted) Wickford Art Association, Wickford, RI
Awarded 3rd Place: On the Edge
May 2018
Landscapes, Real and Imagined (3 pieces accepted) Wickford Art Association, Wickford, RI
Awarded Honorable Mention: Field of Colors
March 2018
Art of the Ocean State, Wickford Art Association (3 pieces), Wickford, RI
Awarded 3rd Place: Sunset in Narragansett
June 2016
Seeing Red, Wickford Art Association, Wickford, RI
Awarded Honorable Mention #1 :Red Barn, Blowing Blizzard
February 2020
WCA Members Show, Sarasota, FL
Awarded Second Place: Wild Woods, Forest Song (Diptych)
February 2024
