Finishing a piece of her artwork less than 24 hours after she started is something out of the ordinary for Linda Barnicott.

“Normally, I’m the type of person who sketches it out, then I do a pen-and-ink. Then I’ll maybe do a watercolor wash, and then I’ll paint it with my pastels,” she said. “But I was in a zone. It just flowed.”

Motivated by her desire to help Ukrainian relief efforts, the former Bethel Park resident, who now lives in Brentwood, swiftly produced a painting with the intention of selling prints and donating the proceeds.

“Unbroken – The Heart of Ukraine” portrays a field of sunflowers against the yellow and blue of the beleaguered nation’s flag, with Barnicott’s use of symbolism representing another departure from her typical theme: She has become popular among area art enthusiasts for her photolike pastel depictions of Western Pennsylvania landmarks.

“That’s when you know it’s intended to happen,” she said. “I’ve always, always felt that what I do is a gift. And I felt like that was a gift.”

The focal point of “Unbroken” is a flower with a heart-shaped face emitting a single tear, representing the nearly global outpouring of grief regarding the plight of Ukrainians.

“There are also a couple of sunflowers bent over, again for the pain and the sorrow,” Barnicott said. “But then there are some new buds, too, for the hope of tomorrow.”

She had learned about a call for musicians to help inspire hope by writing songs in support of Ukraine.

“When I heard that, I started thinking about, what can we all do as artists that can help?” she said.

She also contemplated the some of her friends’ artwork featuring sunflowers, including an image of a field of the flowers by Beaver County photographer Emmanuel Panagiotakis that supported fundraising efforts by SS. Peter and Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church in Ambridge.

As has been the case with countless Pittsburgh motorists, Barnicott one day found herself at a standstill near the Liberty Bridge.

“While I was sitting in traffic, since I wasn’t going anywhere, I Googled sunflowers,” she said. “There was one that looked like it was in the shape of a heart — it was just a tiny picture — and I clicked on it. And here, you could buy seeds that, when you plant them, they will grow to be sunflowers with heart-shaped faces.”

Once she finally reached home, she couldn’t wait to tell her husband, the Rev. Thomas Barnicott, former pastor of First Bethel United Methodist Church and a Bethel Park High School graduate.

“I leaped out of the van and I said to Tom, ‘I have an idea for a painting!’ And I explained everything.”

He later came up with an idea for the painting’s title, which was along the same lines as a suggestion by one of Linda’s friends.

As for “Unbroken – The Heart of Ukraine,” proceeds from sales of the print go directly to a pair of relief organizations with which Unitarian Universalist Church of the South Hills in Mt. Lebanon has been working: the Ukrainian Red Cross and the Voices of Children Foundation, which provides psychological support to young people affected by the war.

For more information, visit lindabarnicott.com.

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