In Memoriam: Lynn Gertenbach

We are saddened to announce that impressionist painter Lynn Gertenbach (b. 1940) has passed away.

“Lynn was a ball of fire,” said Eric Rhoads, Publisher of PleinAir Magazine. “Vibrant, happy, and her laughter was contagious. Her painting ability was strong and she produced an incredible body of work. I’ve known her for over 25 years and have always respected her important role in the art and plein air world. She will be missed.”

“Lynn Gertenbach was an extraordinary kind and beautiful woman and a remarkable artist,” said Peter Adams, President Emeritus of the California Art Club, and a close friend of Lynn’s. “She was a pioneer of plein air painters in our generation. Being one of the founding members of the Plein Air Painters of America, Lynn was also one of the first Signature Artists of the California Art Club and had been an active member in the club for over 50 years.

“In the early 1960s she painted a number of album covers for Ravi Shankar. From 1965 to 1966 Lynn and her sister, sculptor Marsha (Meers), spent a year in India studying classical Indian music. Marsha studied the sitar under Ravi and Lynn studied classical Indian voice.

“Together we would often have them sing at California Art Club gatherings. Her sweet voice, enthusiasm, and dedication to painting was an inspiration to thousands and to myself in particular. Personally, I cannot tell you how much I grieve her passing. May she rest in heaven.”❤️✝️❤️

From Lynn’s website:

An artist from an early age, Lynn’s enthusiasm for her art career has never wavered. Painting is her passion and she has traveled the world for decades in pursuit of it.

Her peers have recognized her talent with dozens of gold medals from well-respected art organizations, as well as the Life Achievement Award (Hall Of Fame Inductee) from the Colorado Art Institute. A signature member of The California Art Club, Plein Air Painters of America, and Oil Painters of America, her paintings and portraits are in the collections of celebrities, art museums, and enthusiastic collectors.

During her nearly 40 years as a professional painter, Lynn has traveled around the world five times to paint and exhibit.

She has made numerous trips to Europe and South America. In 1980 The Instituto Cultural Norte Americano sponsored a traveling exhibition of Lynn’s paintings to three cities in Peru. For more than two decades Lynn has traveled to Japan to appear at her perennial one-woman shows there.

Lynn has painted portraits of many noted persons such as Maestro Zubin Mehta, the Maharaja of Navanagar, Maestro Ravi Shankar, many actors and corporate CEO’s.

She has received numerous gold medal awards and received the Life Achievement Award (Hall of Fame Inductee) from the Colorado Institute of Art. In addition, Lynn also won First Prize in the Landscape Category of the 2002 Autumn Salon Show held at Edenhurst Gallery in Beverly Hills, CA.

Lynn was invited to exhibit at the historic California Club, which included a purchase of one of her new works for the Club’s permanent collection. Her work has been in several group exhibitions in the Laguna Museum of Art, the Carnegie Museum, The Fredrick Wiesman Museum, Pepperdine University the Pacific Asia Museum, and the Isetan Museum, Tokyo.

Lynn was a guest artist for two years at the Artists of America Exhibition in Denver. She has taught workshops and judged shows in many cities in the U.S., and serves on the board of advisors for the California Art Club.

In 1999 a hardcover book was published in Japan on her work called “Cherished Memories.” She is also featured in the 2003 book “The Enchanted Isle,” a historic overview of plein air painters who painted in Catalina Island.

Lynn received her college degrees in Denver, CO. Scholarships enabled her to graduate from the Colorado Institute of Art, with continued studies at Layton Art Institute, Milwaukee; Art Center school in Los Angeles; and UCLA. She also tutored with Sergei Bongart, Phillup Gilkerson, Bernard Dunstan (England), and Arul Raj in India.

***

Lynn also produced a video workshop with Streamline Publishing, titled “The One Hour Plein Air Landscape.” and was a faculty member of the Plein Air Convention and Expo.

She was also on the Plein Air Podcast (episode 41, March 2017) in the interview “Lynn Gertenbach’s Painting Secrets You Need to Adopt” (listen to her conversation with Eric Rhoads here).