Linda Schneider

Artist Interview

What medium do you work with, and why have you chosen them?

My practice is grounded in drawing, which underpins my approach to painting. Working with charcoal and layered media has shaped my sensitivity to tone, revision, and the visible trace of process. I currently work primarily in acrylic and oil painting. Acrylic allows for rapid experimentation and decisive shifts during the making process, while oil is used for its luminosity and capacity for slower, more nuanced development of form and colour.

How does your artwork get from initial concept to exhibition stage?

I usually begin with a person or an image, but the work quickly becomes a process of discovery rather than execution. As the drawing or painting develops, I experiment, test ideas, and often change direction several times. New techniques or ways of seeing the work emerge during this phase, and the piece is allowed to shift in response. At a certain point, those possibilities narrow, and the work begins to assert its own logic. I know a work is moving toward completion when further changes no longer feel exploratory, but instead serve a resolution that the work itself seems to require.

Can you tell us a little more about your creative working environment/studio?

I work from my studio in Harcourt, Victoria. It’s an active working space rather than a presentation studio, set up to allow for drawing, painting, and extended periods of looking and revision. The studio supports a slow, process-led way of working, where works can remain visible over time and be revisited as they develop. I also run regular life drawing sessions from the studio, which keeps observation and the human figure central to my ongoing practice.