Linda Prokop

I feel that I was born an artist. I remember when I was ten years old, I would wait each week for the Sunday comics, and spend hours diligently copying the characters. My high school summer years were spent in a city wide gathering of students in the pursuit of developing techniques in realism. These early concentrated efforts netted me a talent scholarship the university, as well as, laying a solid set of skills for the future.

After receiving my Bachelors of Fine Art, I moved to the sculpture rich community of Loveland, Colorado. It was my great fortune to fall into this successful group of working artists that represented a life I could only have dreamed of in school. I spent the next several years producing bronze sculptures for other artists and becoming proficient in each portion of the process. The enormity of this experience would prove to be the bed rock form which my sculptural beginning would be derived. Bronze sculpture is an extremely elaborate medium, and I know without this extensive exposure I was privileged to receive, I would never have been able to establish the unique characteristics that evolved into my signature style.

My pieces often tell a story usually based on an experience or emotion I’ve had. Many of my images revolve around themes of personal struggle, endurance, triumph, and vulnerability, I have developed a means of communicating on a universal scale in an intimate way. Life’s journey and the human spirit have no boundaries and expressions of this type resonate and are of the same importance to us all. Many of my sculptures are metaphorical and contain a dual meaning. My first message is simple and immediately understood. But on second look, another powerful interaction takes place. Each viewer’s personal and private experiences are brought into the interpretation. My artistic intent is fulfilled when this profound, enduring, expression connects the viewer through their own memories and emotions.

I have been sculpting in bronze for the past sixteen years and have had numerous life size and monumental pieces placed around the country. One of my favorite parts of sculpting is the design phase. I am always challenged, and at my best, when I am composing a new piece that technically and aesthetically pushes the medium to new boundary. Sculpture continues to be my medium of choice because the possibilities are limitless and demand my skills and talents be used in their capacity.

My artistic career has recently taken on a new direction brought about by the economic situation. I have embraced a new medium, oil painting. I am delighted to be reunited with the passion I had for the training of my youth coupled with the maturity of my sculpting history. These new expressions have sparked a huge surge of creative energy and are the perfect compliment to my three dimensional work. I always feel as if I am just beginning, as an artist, and I especially feel that way now. I am looking forward to new heights of creative excellence and joyfully embrace the future to come.