It was a small portrait of Ofélia, the young girl from the dark, magical Spanish fantasy film Pan’s Labyrinth that caught my eye. I hoped I would be able to track down the creator, occasionally artists can be somewhat elusive with little or no online presence, as I wanted to know more. After some online detective work I discovered a way to contact Linda Massey. As well as holding down a full time job the Lancashire based artist creates stunning portraits depicting the stars of the silver screen; Audrey Hepburn, Vivien Leigh and Robert de Niro, as well as glamorous pastel portraits of pop-stars including Lady Gaga, Madonna and Katy Perry. Come and take a look….
Who are you and where are you based? I am Linda Massey. I’m 32 years old and live in Longton. I work full time but draw weekends, evenings or whenever else I can!
Tell me a bit about your work as a portrait artist. Where did you train? I have always been interested in art, from a very young age and would always be painting and drawing. I studied art at GCSE and A level, but am largely self taught. I enjoy drawing people as I find it most rewarding, especially as you see you are creating a likeness. Over the past few years I have mostly used pastels as I like the effect and different textures that can be created with them.
I see you have sketched some iconic movie stars, what do you love about the world of film? I do like drawing movie stars; I like the glamour of the film industry. I also find art a great means of expression. All my movie drawings are from films I love!
How was your work received at the Harris Open Exhibition? I think my work was received well at the Harris Open Exhibition, though I was mostly interested in looking at other people’s work when there at the open evening! I haven’t exhibited elsewhere.
Do you work from home? All my work is done from home, in my lounge, usually creating a cloud of pastel dust all over the sofa!
What are you working on at the moment? I’m currently working on a pastel/fine-liner drawing of a still from ‘E.T’ – one of my favourite films as a child!
Who would you love to sketch? Some people are really fun to draw. For example Lady Gaga; I’ve done loads of drawings of her. I’d like to do more drawings of classic movie stars such as Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich.
All images courtesy and copyright of Linda Massey.