Newspaper

Linda Williamson
"Artists Reach Out Through Web"
Front page of Life section
The Times Colonist, June 10, 2000,
written by Dave Senick, Times-Colonist staff,
photo by Darren Stone, Times-Colonist staff.

It's an amazing transaction. The technology of the Internet that conglomeration of bits, bytes and pixels, has spawned a place where art can be viewed and appreciated while it's creation is fostered.
      The Internet offers people such as Linda Williamson encouragement and support in the form of a cyber community. It also provided the impetus for a real-life experience planned for Vancouver Island this summer.
     "It keeps me in contact with artists and that keeps my creativity up." says Williamson, whose job is with the Forest Practices Board and whose passion is painting. "I need to have those spurs that keep me going."
     Williamson is part of group with art as its common bond, exchanging information and support through the computer. Those exchanges led to the idea of an actual meeting for the weekend of June 30.
     Five artists, Including Williamson, will gather in Victoria for a retreat, using locales such as the Causeway as a backdrop for the development of their painting and friendships. One is coming from Texas and another from Washington state. The others are from B.C.
     They'll also move up-island for a few more days. It follows the example of an art show set up in Washington, D.C. two years ago, all the result of Internet chit-chat.
     The Paint-L "Web ring" contains sites displaying works, information and tips. It also includes a mailing list and chat room that is a lifeline for many, all beginning from http://www.slip.......html.
     "You can get business ideas, painting ideas and solutions to problems," says Williamson. "There is a real wide range of persons involved.
    "I can get as many as 70 messages a day, such as "I've redesigned my Web site, can you give me comments? I'm having a show and I'm nervous. What have I forgotten to do?"
     "There are probably 20 people who respond to messages daily and there are others like myself who respond to two or three a week. I have more of a business sense, so I'll tend to help out in that area."
     "At first I was a real lurker," she says, "I did not say anything. But then when I saw there were people asking questions to which I knew the answers, I started to contribute, And, I was welcomed. They are very chatty. Sometimes you'll get a comment direct from a person, off-list. You'll make friendships that way.
     That's how plans for the Victoria meeting began. Somebody put out a comment that it would be fun to go out on a retreat" says Williamson. "Then came the comment that we would do something in my area, then I'm in. At the time, there were 14 initially interested.
      "Basically, people will get directions to my house and that will be the first time we meet in person."
      Like the Internet exchange, Williamson expects to learn from the experience.
      "You can get so much advice," she says, "At any time, I can put out a question and I'll get 20 answers. It is really good for those starting out.
      "You get an idea of the skills involved from how they contribute (to Paint-L). One does the newsletter, another supports the Web site and another might handle the list. I don't have a Web site yet, but a person in Great Britain is hosting one of my pictures.
      "I've been painting for a lot of years but only recently have tried to become somewhat commercial in that I want to sell my paintings. My purpose within the group is to pick up ideas."
      But the social aspect is still intertwined with the words of counsel "I have to limit it or I could be there for a long time," says Williamson. "I turn on my computer, get my messages and deal with them, then try very hard not to do that again that day."
      That idea of spending the day "talking" about art inspired the Victoria retreat group to order T-shirts that they'll wear when they're sketching and painting. It includes a design from a work depicting the Cafe Guerbois, a favorite meeting place for the French Impressionists from 1866 to 1875.
      "This (Internet association) is the modern-day substitute." say Williamson.
It was uttered more than 100 years ago, but a quote from Claude Monet regarding the value of the Cafe Guerbois sums up exactly the way Williamson and other artists feel about their computer connection:

"Nothing could have been more stimulating than the regular discussions which we used to have there, with their constant clashes of opinion. They kept our wits sharpened and supplied us with a stock of enthusiasm which last us for weeks, and kept on going until the final realization of an idea was accomplished. From there we emerged with a stronger determination, and with our thoughts clearer and more sharply defined."