Born, Linda Tonnon to Dutch immigrant parents, Lu’s first five years were spent in Gisborne, New Zealand.  The next twelve were spent in the small rural New Zealand town of Morrinville in the Waikato region where she spent hours after school and on weekends painting in a little outdoor cabin that her father built for her.

Lu’s creativity and passion for painting is deeply ingrained, and was noticeable from a very early age.  This was evident in the distinctive marks she made with crayons and finger paints and today Lu still paints with her fingers a lot of the time.

At sixteen she went to Waikato Technical Institute to learn about retail selling, advertising, window dressing and ticket writing for a year.

Lu uses colour and light effects to achieve a spiritual quality, low relief and texture to “give life” to the more earthy elements. Her love of freedom and spontaneity is seen in the versatility of her work.  She enjoys the challenge of combining the figurative with the abstract.  Her method is one of constant experimentation with ideas and concepts and a wide range of materials and found objects.  Lu currently works in acrylic and mixed media.

The versatility of her work and love of freedom is reflected in the constantly changing and diverse subject matter and media she chooses.

Her work has been sold and taken to America, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

Lu currently lives in Lynfield Auckland with her husband.  Her three daughters now left home and all have careers involving creative pursuits also.

Click here to view Lu's artworks.