Trekscapes
Photo by Kristin Laughter
Lincoln’s artwork was recently displayed at the Atlantic
gallery.
To celebrate receiving his bachelor’s degree from art school, Ted Lincoln rode his Surly touring bike from San Francisco to Gainesville, covering more than 3,000 miles in 55 days in the summer of 2003. He says he got a lot of inspiration for his future work by seeing the natural landscapes of the United States from the seat of his bicycle.
“I’ve always been more of a landscape person,” Lincoln said. “I’m not trying to recreate an actual specific landscape with my paintings; I’m trying to recreate a feeling that I had while in that certain landscape.”
A 1992 graduate of P.K. Yonge High School and former professional mountain bike racer, Lincoln worked at “almost every bike shop” in his hometown of Gainesville. But after a seven-month bout with mono and a collarbone injury, Lincoln decided to rethink his priorities.
With his career in mountain bike racing compromised by his health, Lincoln decided to go to California for art school. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting at the San Francisco Art Institute and shortly after, left for his cross-country bike trek. After finishing his 3,000 mile bike trip to Gainesville, Lincoln began working on new paintings. In March, he featured them at a gallery in the Atlantic in Gainesville.
One of his pieces, “Long Season,” is a strange and beautiful landscape that looks like dark, rain-heavy clouds meeting white, airy clouds in an uneasy sky. Lincoln creates these landscape paintings by pouring ink on large pieces of rice paper, then pressing several pieces together, smearing the ink. He then mounts the pieces of rice paper to a panel and colors them with acrylic paint.
Lincoln has applied to graduate schools in New York, Rhode Island and California. He says he wants to go to graduate school so he can continue to explore landscapes and how technology affects landscapes. He would also like to find his place in the contemporary art scene.
“I feel I have more to say than just making pretty paintings.”