Linda Infante Lyons facts for kids

Linda Anne Infante Lyons, born in 1960, is a talented Native American artist from Anchorage, Alaska. She is part Alutiiq, with her mother's family coming from Kodiak Island. She also has Estonian heritage. The people of Kodiak Island experienced two big changes when new groups arrived. This history is a very important part of Linda Lyons' artwork.

About Linda Lyons

Her Early Life and Learning

Linda Lyons went to Whitman College in Washington state. There, she earned a degree in biology. Later, from 1996 to 1998, she studied art at Viña del Mar Escuela de Bellas Artes in Chile.

She lived in Chile for about 18 years. During this time, she focused on her painting and built a community around her art. After that, she moved back to Alaska. Today, she shares an art studio in Mountain View with her husband, Graham Dane.

Sharing Her Art Skills

Besides being an independent artist, Linda Lyons also works with the Alaska State Council on the Arts. She travels to different schools. There, she teaches painting to children, sharing her passion and skills.

Linda Lyons' Artworks

Her Unique Painting Style

In my portraits, I simplify form to the most essential to describe a realm of spiritual realities. I am consistently lured by the promise of transcendence and the possibility of discovery in each new piece of work. ~ Linda Infante Lyons

People often describe Linda Lyons as a "magical realist" and a "regionalist." This is because of her painting style and how much she focuses on Alaska. She calls herself an "emotional realist." This means her landscapes are inspired by her feelings and experiences, not always by one exact place.

Linda Lyons wants her art to make viewers feel something. She also wants them to feel a sense of comfort and wonder about the unknown.

Landscapes and Nature

Linda Lyons once explained that her art is influenced by the "abstract of sublime." She shows this by putting powerful landforms, like volcanoes, in the background of calm scenes. Her landscapes often feel very quiet because there are no people in them.

You'll often see endless bodies of water, unique land and ice shapes, and different plants and animals in her work. These places are usually not identifiable, making them feel mysterious.

Powerful Portraits

Lyons has also painted many portraits. These paintings are inspired by the idea of different cultures coming together. In these portraits, she paints Native women in traditional clothes. They often hold animals with glowing halos around their heads.

This shows her spiritual beliefs and how she sees Alutiiq and Russian cultures as equally important. She uses old Russian Orthodox art styles and Alutiiq masks. This shows that she respects both cultures. The women in her portraits are based on her family and friends. They usually hold an animal, as animals are seen as a link between the physical and spiritual worlds in many Native American cultures.

In all her portraits, the Alutiiq women are placed in the center. They are in a strong pose that was once only for men.

Connecting with the World

Linda Infante Lyons believes that everything on Earth has a "spiritual entity" and is connected. She learned this from her grandmother during summers on Kodiak Island. Her grandmother taught her about Alutiiq spiritual practices. As an artist, she explores these connections in her art. She uses "simplified forms" to show how different parts of the world are linked.

Linda Infante Lyons also created the cover art for Paul Brynner's book, "Conception of the Sphinx."

Photography Work

Linda Lyons became interested in photography when she started taking pictures to help her paintings. Her photos have been recognized by the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center. They were part of their yearly Rarefied Light Exhibits.

Art for Public Spaces

Linda Infante Lyons has created several public art pieces. At the Hispanic Cultural Center in Mountain View, she painted a mural of rufous hummingbirds. These birds symbolize the many different cultures in Alaska.

She also painted a mural on a 100-foot wall at the Government Hill Commons and Community Orchard in Anchorage. Another mural she created was for the Healthy Alaska Natives Foundation. This was part of "The Water is Life" project.

Important Themes in Her Art

Decolonizing Alaska

A main theme in her portrait art is "Decolonizing Alaska." Her ancestors from Kodiak Island were first influenced by Russia, then by the United States. Their culture faced big challenges as they were encouraged to forget their own ways.

This art movement helps to understand the effects of these changes. Through this, Linda Infante Lyons explores her heritage. She tries to "restore her culture" after these historical events. She uses old cultural images and techniques. She shows her Alutiiq and Russian heritage as equally important. By using Russian Orthodox art styles and Alutiiq masks, she "opens up a conversation" about her culture's past. She explored this theme further in a collection called All Things Sacred in 2017.

Artist Programs and Shows

Exploring the World Through Art

As an artist, Linda has traveled and found inspiration in many different places. She has been part of several special artist programs. These include the Rasmuson Foundation Fellowship Art Residency in Santa Fe and the Denali National Park and Preserve Artist Residency. She also went to Germany to study at the Mayer of Munich Architectural Glass Studio.

In Santa Fe, she noticed how similar the "vast endlessness" was to Alaska. The land shapes and warm colors she saw there appeared in her later artworks and photos. At Denali, she stayed alone in a cabin for ten days. She sketched and took pictures of things that inspired her. At the end, she gave a painting called "Denali, the Source" to the park. In Germany, she learned how to turn her oil paintings into glass mosaics.

Art Shows and Collections

Linda Infante Lyons' paintings have been shown in many Alaskan museums and galleries. Some of her collections include Open Space/ Open Mind and All Things Sacred at the Bunnell Street Art Center. She also had Ebb and Flow at the Alaska State Museum and Sites Unseen with her husband at the Alaska Humanities Forum.

Selected Artworks

Permanent Collections

Some of Linda Lyons' works are kept permanently in these places:

• Alaska Contemporary Art Bank
• Alaska State Museum
• Alutiiq Museum and Archeological Repository
• Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center

Notable Paintings

St. Katherine of Karluk (2016)

In St. Katherine of Karluk, Linda Infante Lyons painted an Alaskan shaman holding a special seal. This painting is part of the Museum of the North's permanent collection. The shaman wears red and gold traditional Native American clothing, with designs on her chin. Both the shaman and the seal have halos. The halo around the woman has sacred Alutiiq symbols from Kodiak masks found in a French museum. The seal is important in Kodiak culture, so the shaman holds it like a Christian Madonna would hold baby Jesus. The plant the seal holds is pushiki, a local Kodiak plant. The woman in the painting is Linda Lyons' great-grandmother. This artwork shows respect for her family's Native roots while also connecting to Christian ideas.

The Alutiiq Madonna (2017)

In The Alutiiq Madonna, Linda Infante Lyons took a well-known Christian image and added Alutiiq symbols. The Alutiiq woman holds a European child. This shows how different cultures have influenced each other. The masks in the halo represent sacred Kodiak masks. The child holds a wooden doll. This painting follows the same style as her portraits in her All Things Sacred collection.

Dandelions (2015)

Dandelions was a landscape painting shown in Linda Infante Lyons' solo exhibition called Ebb and Flow. This show was at the Alaska State Museum. The painting is now part of the Museum of the North's permanent collection. It shows dandelions blooming and reaching towards the sky in front of a landform. Like many of her paintings, the sky is painted to create a sense of wonder. The green and yellow colors make the flowers the main focus.

Serenity Bay

Serenity Bay is a landscape painting that was shown at the Alaska State Museum. The scene shows a calm bay between rock formations. A smoking volcano is in the distance. There are round and cone-shaped trees on the shore. This artwork shows a calm moment before a storm. The water is still, and the sunset has light colors. The volcano adds contrast to the scene.

Sunset at Pyramid Mountain (2019)

Sunset at Pyramid Mountain was part of the "Nunat–Lands" exhibit at the Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological Repository. This oil painting shows Chiniak Bay in the Kodiak Island area. The landscape has an orange sky with gray clouds. There is a mountain range beyond the water and plants in the front of the painting. This was one of two paintings bought by the museum in 2019. The museum's director, April Counceller, said that even though the artworks are "non-traditional" for Alutiiq art, you can still tell they are "Alutiiq."

Notable Photographs

Going Nowhere, Wales, Alaska (2014)

Going Nowhere, Wales, Ak is a photograph by Linda Infante Lyons. It was part of the Rarified Light Art Exhibit at the Anchorage Museum. This photo shows a red construction vehicle covered in snow. Behind it are the Alaskan mountains of the Bering Sea. There is also a shed in the background. This image shows the huge, open environment of Alaska.

Notable Public Art

Los Picaflores (2015)

Lyons painted two picaflores, or hummingbirds, around a red flower. Hills and water are behind them. The rufous hummingbird was chosen to show the diversity in Alaska. This is because it travels between Mexico and southern Alaska. This mural is on the side of the Mountain View Hispanic Cultural Center in Anchorage.

A River Flows Through Us (2016)

This landscape mural shows a view of water from above. It was made for "The Water is Life" project. This project helps people feel proud of their drinking water systems. The mural shows the idea of "connectivity and continuity" in nature and the community.

Capitol Hills Commons Mural (2018)

This mural shows dark shapes of weeds on a 100-foot wall. This wall is next to the Praise Temple and a community orchard. The design was inspired by the weeds that grew on the empty lot before. The Atwood Foundation grant helped fund this mural.

Awards and Fellowships

Linda Infante Lyons has received many awards and fellowships for her art:

• Rasmuson Individual Project Award (2013)
• Denali National Park and Preserve Artist Residency (2014)
• Rasmuson Foundation Fellowship Art Residency Santa Fe Arts Institute/ Institute of American Indian Art Residency (2015)
• Rasmuson Foundation Individual Artist Award (2016)
• Native Arts & Cultures Foundation National Artist Fellowship (2018)
• Atwood Foundation Artist Grant (2018)
• Mayer of Munich Architectural Glass Studio