Artist Spotlight - Acrylic Painter Lynda McLaughlin

As you enter New London’s fresh off of a long train ride you are now greeted by eight large canvas pieces highlighting many of this town’s great features. Among the works are canvases praising large attractions such as the and as well as historical landmarks such as the , the summer homestead of great American playwright Eugene O’Neill and his family.

These eight beautiful works praising our city were created by Lynda McLaughlin of New London. She is a member of the Pacific Street Artists’ Guild and an elected member of the Mystic Art Center. She is a self-taught artist who works out of her home studio and has been painting for as long as she can remember. “I was one of those horrible little children who would doodle during class,” she tells Patch with a chuckle.

She created the works of art because she loves this town. “I just feel that New London doesn’t do enough to toot its own horn,” McLaughlin tells Patch. She feels that New London has a lot more going for it than most people realize and wants to do her part to make sure everyone knows it.

The train station is a great place to display these works because it gives incoming visitors a taste of what the town has to offer and shows departing guests what they may have overlooked. Todd O’Donnell, one of the partners at Union Station, helped coordinate the hanging.

“This was a labor of love;” in fact she was neither commissioned by the town to produce promotional material nor is she attempting to sell the works out of the train station. This was simply a project that she felt moved to undertake based on her experiences with the town.

This is not the first time McLaughlin was inspired by her home to paint.  Lynda spent most of her life in St Thomas in the Virgin Islands, moving there as a child in 1953 so her father could pursue a construction contract. After one year they decided to stay permanently. The vibrancy of Caribbean life and the experience of living in a tightly knit community offered ample subject matter for McLaughlin to work from.

Working primarily in vibrant acrylics, she depicts pleasant rhythm of daily life in the Caribbean in a style that is evocative of classic folk art. In 2008 she wrote and illustrated “Time Gone,” a book about her experiences growing up in the Caribbean.  

For more information on the Art of Lynda McLaughlin please visit her website at LWesley.com. You may also view her work on permanent display in the train station and on the muraled façade of the 13 Golden Street Building. She will also have displays at both the Pacific Street Gallery and at the in November of this year.