We were lucky to catch up with Linnea Pergola recently and have shared our conversation below.

Linnea , appreciate you joining us today. Have you signed with an agent or manager? Why or why not?

I always wanted to be an artist, but as you know it is not an easy life nor easy to get recognized. I was lucky to have lived in the San Fernando Valley in the 1980’s when art publishers were much more common than now. Art publishers then, had artists under contract and printed serigraphs and distributed them nationwide and worldwide. It was basically a fluke that Martin Lawrence Galleries (located in Van Nuys, CA) even looked at my work. My boyfriend at the time worked there and casually showed the owner, Marty my work and he loved it. I was then signed to work for them, which meant to paint commercially sound paintings that would (hopefully) sell. Back then you would almost sell your first born to get a contract like this. The compensation was great and I got to paint but it was not always easy. It was a huge company and some paintings were rejected, some were popular but as with art, you never know what will work. I was under a lot of pressure and it came with a lot of challenges. I learned a lot, don’t regret it at all but wish I was not so naive. I was painting a lot as well as participating in numerous art shows all over the country. It was a very busy time and I still found time to have a baby.

Linnea , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

As I said in the prior question, my working with Martin Lawrence Galleries is how I started my career in art. I graduated with a degree in history from CSUN, not art and I had to develop my own style without direction. I did take classes as often as I could and I especially enjoyed life drawing which is completely opposite from what I am known for, which is painting cities.
I love travel and painting cities became my forte. I was known for mixing up a city and recreating it, basically. I tried to paint the cities with lots of detail, humor and color. I know immediately when I visit a place if I want to paint it. That’s how I felt in Prague, Amsterdam, Paris and Edinburgh. I don’t know why I enjoy painting details so much but people seem to enjoy that about my work.
I was very lucky that a puzzle company in Colorado contacted me. They are Liberty Puzzles. I got a call from them around 2009 or so and they asked if I’d be interested in working with them. They turned out to be enormously popular and are known nationwide. I am going to Vienna in June 2025 to take photos and do a few paintings and I hope they will pick one for a puzzle. Lots of people found me through this company and have bought originals.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

In a prior relationship, we moved to France. We lived in a few small villages but it was a very rocky relationship and because of my visa I was not allowed to sell artork in France. Or sell anything for that matter. My art was on hold. I did small paintings but my motivation was almost zero. You would think that being surrounded by all that beauty I would have painted more but I just didn’t. The language was hard for me and I felt really isolated. We moved back to the states and split up. I started my whole life over. I regained my love of art and joined two art groups in Scottsale, AZ. That was the best thing I ever did. I needed to get back to me. I started showing work again and started to travel as well. I volunteered with Elephant Nature Park in Chaing Mai, Thailand four times.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I want to keep exploring and enjoying the process. I moved to South Africa last May 2024 and love it here. It’s a beautiful country and I have been inspired by all the natural beauty here as well as the people. I’ve been painting more animals and nature. I’m looking forward to visiting more African countries as well.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.LinneaPergola.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/linneapergola

Image Credits

Myself, Michael Neff.