1. Lynda Wylde: Artist Biography
I am originally from Alberta. I was born in 1965. My family moved out to BC when I was 9 years old.
I have been living in the White Rock area since 2002.
Who is Lynda Wylde? For you to get the picture, let's start with when I was a kid. I was always hungry to create.
Creating just about anything meant more to me than making friends. I was a happy latch-key kid and a bit of a
loner. I was a tomboy by day and a young socialite by night. My mother worked downtown Calgary and my sisters
and I would often meet her for dinner at glamorous 1970's dinner clubs. I loved the live bands!
On the other hand, I also loved the outdoors. As a child, I had a lot of freedom to go exploring. On one of my
expeditions, I found a stream that was lined with clay. I dug up the clay and brought it home. I made my
creations and let them bake in the sun. I later painted them. Another time, I made candles by melting wax and
pouring it into a hole that I had dug in the back yard. The wax I did not melt, I used to carve animal figures with
a potato peeler. When my mom bought a truckload full of lumber scraps to use as firewood, I saw it as a beautiful
pile of “stuff” to create with! Oh, I created many miniature rooms with that wood. I made furniture, appliances,
stairs, etc.. My little rooms had carpets, drapes, art, and electricity.
I started painting in oils when I was 12 yrs old. My aunt was a painter and she gave me my first set of paints. I bought my first camera
when I was 17. I love black and white photography! In high school, I was developing my own photos. When I was 17 years old, I started my
first career in the commercial printing industry. I ran a press, did platemaking and film stripping, as well as, process camera work.
Afterwards, I went into graphic art and learned to be a typesetter.
When I was 30, I started my second career with a home-based business as a painter and printmaker. My paintings were now done in acrylic
and I had gathered three lead-type proof presses from here and there. I learned to set lead-type and carve linoleum. I made linocuts. Then
I converted my proof presses to print my linocuts onto journal covers for the gift market. I also did screen printing with Micheal de Courcy.
My second and third career overlapped for ten years. When I was 33, our son was born. Two years later, after a 14 year marriage, I started
a career as a single parent of a special needs child. My third career took me in an entirely different direction. I became chief cook and bottle
washer, a physiotherapist, speech pathologist, occupational therapist, behavioural therapist, and advocate for my son. By the time I was 40,
my third career took all my time and energy. I shut down my business. I had to give up creating. I reached burnout at age 46. Extreme life
decisions and changes had to be made.
Now, I am nearly 49 years old. I have developed a deep understanding of life and an easy going way of navigating it. My son no longer lives
with me. I have just finished a two year design program at Langara College. I happily juggle two careers. I am the director of Blakeheart
Society which is a society recently organized to advocate for my son. I have started another home based business. I paint custom abstract
paintings for interior designers, home stagers, and others who want to support my painting addiction. I never would have thought about the
abstract style of painting had it not been for the inspiration from one of my teachers at Langara. I love that one painting can convey a
different feeling or emotional experience for each viewer.
-Lynda Wylde audacious creative.