Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/433799
S P O R T I N G C L A S S I C S 2 0 9 migration is simply amazing." Besse, who has traversed every U.S. state along with 35 countries on all seven continents in pursuit of her passion for wildlife, holds a master's degree in geology from Eastern Washington University. Her love of the earth's natural pigments glistens in her vibrant, buttery-rich palette. Her deft brushstrokes recreate the immediacy of the moments she has witnessed, conveying excitement and action in sculptural light. "I'm experimenting with a new technique. I'm starting my paintings on a Venetian red gesso ground; I'm excited about the richer feel." In White Hunter, Besse utilizes the red gesso midground to great advantage. One can almost smell the sulfurous, anaerobic muck along the shoreline and even the leaden-gray sky seems heavier for it's Venetian-red base. The shooter, honed in on a flock of snows, seems unaware of the approaching leviathan looming behind him, while the windsock decoys break the tension with their vapid, mindless stares. Besse is simply flawless, time and again, in capturing that split-second just before something big happens—leaving the viewer to puzzle out the conclusion. Besse lives in Mead, Washington, and works from a studio in the home she shares with her husband of three decades. There, she assembles her sketches, small field paintings, and photographs to create the reference material for her magnificent oils—some small and some as large as the 35-x-48-inch Charge, which will be auctioned at the 2015 SCI Convention in Las Vegas. SCI Foundation named Besse 2014 Conservation Artist of the Year. She also won a Best of Show at the 2014 NatureWorks Show. She's a Signature Member of the Society of Animal Artists, a member of Oil Painters of America, and belongs to the International Guild of Realism. white hunter by linda besse S P O R T I N G C L A S S I C S 2 0 9