Upon entering the historic Sundance Restaurant on E. High Street, the first things you’ll notice are the aroma of fresh Mexican food – it is a restaurant – and the wood-paneled walls adorned with bright and bold paintings.
Both the food and the original art work are the product of the efforts of longtime resident and Sundance Restaurant founder Linda Hoag. She and husband John started the eatery after a stint as a cook at the Red River Ski Area. Though her daughter Sara and her husband Bruno now handle the kitchen and business aspects, many of the dishes on the menu are Linda’s recipes.
The paintings are the result of a newer passion which got its start in the mid 1990s. It is apparent that Linda loves color, for her works draw the eye to vivid scenes of the high country, many of them portraying the surrounding Red River Valley and the Rio Grande landscape of Northern New Mexico.
She also has a recent series of work that focuses on the Palo Duro Canyon of Texas.
“I’m a landscape painter. I enjoy capturing the beauty that I see around me.” She particularly enjoys plein air painting, painting outdoors where a painter reproduces the visual conditions seen at the time of the painting. She studied with various Taos artists and found the experience most rewarding.
“The intense color and light of New Mexico, especially the area surrounding Taos has inspired her landscape paintings. Ray Vinella has described Linda as “a true colorist.” It is her use of color that makes her paintings strong and exciting. She does not try to recreate the exact image but tries to show the viewer her impression of all the colors present in the scene.” (Courtesy of a promotional brochure.)
In addition to the Sundance Restaurant, Linda Hoag’s work can be seen at Blumenschein East Studio Gallery in Taos, and at Krogu Fine Jewelry & Art Gallery, St. John, Virgin Islands. Online, check out www.lindahoag.com.