Local painter with an amazing first solo show

by Stacia Friedman
Posted 9/22/22

Linda Chicchi has already sold a dozen of the 32 paintings at her solo show at Center on the Hill, the activity center for seniors located in the Presbyterian Church on Germantown Avenue.

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Local painter with an amazing first solo show

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Linda Chicchi has already sold a dozen of the 32 paintings at her solo show at Center on the Hill, the activity center for seniors located in the Presbyterian Church on Germantown Avenue. 

And who knows? By the time the show ends on September 30, she might sell them all. Quite an accomplishment for an artist who didn’t start to paint until she was in her late fifties.

“I actually sold one of the paintings before the show even opened,” said Chicchi. “Someone just happened to walk by, liked what they saw, and called me.” 

While you wouldn’t think an art show in a church basement would get a lot of foot traffic, Center on the Hill is an exception. With a steady stream of programs, including Bridge, Soul Line Dancing, Scrabble and Watercolor Painting, there is a constant flow of people. 

Chicchi’s journey as an artist was long and circuitous. After growing up in East Falls and attending Hallahan High School, she married an army officer and they were transferred to Germany. 

“I studied at the University of Maryland in Heidelberg, Germany, graduating with a degree in English. When we returned to Philadelphia, I found work at Pew Charitable Trust,” she said. “I loved my career, but when Pew relocated to Washington, DC, I took a position at Einstein Hospital. 

“Later, after my husband died,” she continued, “I retired and signed up for a (Mount Airy Learning Tree) watercolor painting class with Marcia Jones and a drawing class with Marta Sanchez at Woodmere. 

That was 10 years ago. 

Now, the paintings in Chicchi’s show represent her growth as an artist over the last decade, from watercolors that are so realistic they could be mistaken for photos to abstract images. Her primary subject matter is flowers and landscapes.

“I have been moving away from realism,” she said. “Watercolor itself has its own mind and we try to force our own vision on it. I think the passages that happen naturally are more beautiful than anything I was trying to do.” 

This results in watercolor paintings with a mysterious, dreamy feeling, she said.  

Letting watercolor do whatever it wants to do intimidates most novices. But Chicci not only welcomes these unexpected results, she treasures them. 

She also experimented with an acrylic mono-print entitled “Black Iris.”

When Jones moved her classes from Allens Lane to Woodmere, Chicchi went with her. 

“I’ve made some really amazing friends in her classes,” she said. “We go to museums together and do a lot of art focused trips.” 

“Linda has natural abilities which have always been apparent, but her beautiful, current show is a result of very hard work and endless experimentation with materials and processes,” said Jones, the Center’s instructor. “To see her development of interesting subjects has been very satisfying for myself and our group. In her retirement, she has reinvented herself as a professional artist!” 

“My teaching style is to share and demonstrate processes while encouraging each student to pursue their personal vision,” Jones added. “Ours is a group effort to help each other succeed and thrive.” 

For more information, visit: ChestnutHillPres.org/Center-on-the-Hill