November Artist of the Month – Meet Lynda Davis Jeha
Lynda Davis Jeha can barely recall a time when art was not a part of her life. This keen interest began while watching her father paint. Her father was an engineer who did not truly enjoy his work until his brother gave him a set of oil paints to bring life to his projects. Now, in his nineties, he has never stopped drawing or painting. Davis Jeha and her dad continue to share a very special relationship in which their art plays an important role.
As a child growing up on a lake in a small town in Central Massachusetts, Lynda recollects, “nature was always my muse” and it remains so today as she finds inspiration in natural environments all over the country. She has had the opportunity to both travel and live in many spectacular habitats. Davis Jeha’s passions have always pulled her in two different directions: Science vs Art, but she has managed to find a lovely harmony between the two. After college she worked in marine research and returned to formal education in her late twenties to attain a degree in environmental science.
Through her environmental work, Davis Jeha has lived in Alaska and the Dominican Republic and she always had her sketchbook or paints and canvas at her side. She considers herself a colorist and likes to capture the “feeling of color…using geometric shapes and color studies.” Of utmost importance to this artist is that her pieces “evoke a reaction…positive or negative” from the viewer.
As an aside, she notes that her skills are quite opposite to those of her father for whom precision came naturally. Despite these differences they appreciate each other’s talents and a special moment for Davis Jeha was recently having her father see her work at an international juried show in San Diego.
In addition to her two dimension works of art, Lynda has spent a great deal of time creating jewelry, metal making and sculpting with metal. She took a silversmith class at age 15 and has worked as a silversmith in Maine and a costume jewelry designer in Brookline. Now adding color in the form of semi-precious stones this artist has a renewed interest in sculptures that adorn.
Last but certainly not least, Davis Jeha has a great love for teaching art. At Wellesley College, she is dedicated to teaching adults and children in non-traditional methods. She focuses on bringing out an individual’s unique talents rather than on how the end product appears. This artist, while mainly self-taught, has taken classes at Mass Art, the Museum School and Simmons College. She has won several awards for her work and has sold many pieces around the country and internationally.