San Diegans who frequent the Starbucks in Ocean Beach, Gold’s Gym in Point Loma or the San Diego Yacht Club have undoubtedly been fascinated by the vibrantly-colored precisely-detailed pastel and watercolor paintings that can be seen there. Point Loma artist David Linton is the man behind such paintings, which can be described as “realist with an impressionist twist.” Linton’s artwork has been commissioned by countless organizations including the America’s Cup Organizing Committee, the Arthur Ashe AIDS Foundation and San Diego Marine Trade Association for a variety of causes. He often provides his colorful renditions of landscapes and seascapes — such as a 12-by-25-foot mural of the Point Loma lighthouse at the Naval Training Center campus — as donations to nonprofit organizations such as the American Cancer Society, the Epilepsy Foundation and the Cher Foundation. “You always have to give back,” he said. “Yeah, I sell paintings, but God gave me this talent and I have to give back. It’s good for your soul.” What makes Linton’s paintings stand apart is his preference for a difficult-to-use but vibrant medium that many artists tend to shy away from. “A lot of artists don’t want to work with pastels. It’s a difficult medium to work with,” he said. “It takes years to actually say ‘I’ve arrived, and I can master this medium.’” Linton has worked with pastels for more than 40 years and can assertively say he has mastered “the oldest known painting medium to mankind.” “It’s pure color pigment, it’s not diluted. You’re applying pure color to the surface, and the image is stronger,” he said of why he prefers the medium to oil or acrylics. “You just get a raw feel about what the artist is trying to say on the surface.” He said his talents have evolved over the years to create tighter and cleaner paintings with an immensely expanded color palate. His subject matter, too, has gotten to be worldlier, he said, including a repertoire of paintings from Venice to Paris to Hong Kong. Linton also has his sights set on the upcoming Olympics in Rio de Janiero, America’s Major League Baseball and U.S. national parks. Currently, Linton is creating designs for more than 40 types of America’s Cup merchandise to prepare for the America’s Cup World Series, Louis Vuitton Cup and America’s Cup Finals in San Francisco. On Oct. 28, Linton will appear on Art and Coin TV’s Fine Art Showcase for a live interview, demonstration of the use of pastels and sale of his artwork. Some of Linton’s original America’s Cup works will sell in an upcoming Fine Art Showcase, a live show he appears on twice per year. “People want to find out about the artist. A lot of times you see the artwork, but you wonder, ‘who did this?’” he said. “For about 30 minutes, I talk about what inspired me for the paintings, what I’ve been doing and where I’m going in the way of my artwork.” He said he prefers this virtual gallery to a physical local gallery because he can capture a bigger and broader global audience. “People have gotten to the point where they just don’t want to go out sometimes. It’s much easier for them and it’s easier on the artist,” he said. “It’s the home shopping network for art.” For more information about David Linton, visit www.davidlintonart.com. Linton’s live interview, showcase and demonstration on Art and Coin TV’s Fine Art Showcase will be available on Direct TV and additionally online live at www.artandcointv.com on Oct. 28 at 5 p.m.