HER LANDSCAPES ARE METAPHORS FOR THE UNCONSCIOUS

Marla Duryee, Whittier Daily News

Paintings of dreams illuminate the real world of Linda Jacobson.
Her paintings are autobiographical in nature and described as mirror surfaces on which she imprints psychic images.

“I am a painter exploring emotional, psychological and spiritual dimensions of self as symbolized by landscape,” she said.

The use of landscape as a metaphor for the subconscious is in keeping with her Jungian philosophy “The landscape is the stage where I place symbols that relate to emotional feelings I have,” she explained.
Symbols such as forests, oceans and rocks dominate the paintings, yet the organic objects are foreboding in feel because black and gray are the predominate colors.
“I was exploring life and death and looking at why are we here, where are we going where did we come from?” I got in touch with my own mortality,” Jacobson said explaining the myseterious allure of these early paintings.

Black Pathway depicts a large black road receding into the corner of the canvas passing ominous shadowed trees and shapeless forms. This is similar to Black Pathway with Mirror, which shows similar forms with the addition of a reflecting mirror blocking the path.
The pathways in these is a metaphor for the life process; we move along a path but don’t necessarily know where we are going,” she said.

But as she travels that path of self-exploration, light and color enters the paintings.
“Introspection leads to knowing, a higher level of consciousness and awareness, and then comes a sense of peace of mind and lightness,’ she said.

According her more recent works, such as Above Wailuku, which shows towering purple peaks shrouded with swirling gray clouds are colorful and bright.