About the Artist

Linda is a professional botanical artist, naturalist, and instructor. She began the study of botanical painting after viewing original works by Maria Sibylla Merian, Alexander Marshall and Mark Catesby, on exhibit at Holyrood House Gallery in Edinburgh, Scotland. Upon returning home, she began what she considers her “life’s work”, artistically depicting the natural world that she was so close to in her childhood.


After a marketing career with a major telecommunications company, Linda has developed her creative eye with more than fifteen years of study ~ as an apprentice with a professional decorative painter, as a student enrolled in college courses and master workshops and through self-directed study.  It is her love of drawing and her keen understanding of color and value that helps her create such realistic interpretations of nature.


Today, most of Linda’s works are created in watercolor and her life is filled with a host of botanical art activity.   In 2009, she held her first solo exhibit and initiated the Botanical Art Workshops at The Elizabethan Gardens.  In 2010, Linda began entering juried exhibitions and was awarded First Place for her Lenten Rose and it sold the very first day.  Linda’s works have also been selected from hundreds of entries to show in such prestigious exhibitions as the Peninsula Fine Art Center’s Biennial 2010 and the 2011 Virginia Artists Juried Exhibitions.  This year Linda was named The Elizabethan Garden’s first “Artist in Residence” and is currently working on ten original works for a solo exhibition there next year.  Linda is very active in her community and hosts botanical art demonstrations, lectures and children’s workshops aimed at educating the public about this old and rich genre.

Linda loves to paint from nature.  “I love to paint portraits of nature.  Drawing from life speaks to the explorer in me and many of my works are from the trail, from the shore and the garden.  I never know who or what I will paint next.   What I love most about nature is that every effort has meaning ~ no effort is wasted.”  Through her artwork, Linda encourages the viewer to look a little bit closer and look a little bit longer to see the amazing structures, textures and colors found in nature.

Education
  • Regional and local art studies in botanical art, fiber arts, photography, printmaking, sculpting, and watercolor, 1997 to current.
  • Raritan Valley Community College. Drawing and design studies, 1996-98.
  • Wayne State University. Bachelor of Science, Business Administration and Marketing, Magna Cum Laude

Honors
First " Artist in Residence" at The Elizabethan Gardens, 2011-2012



Exhibitions
  • "SMALL WORKS by Hampton Roads Artists" Invitational Exhibition, The Charles H. Taylor Arts Center, October - December 2011, awarded Third Place Watercolor.
  • "VIRGINIA ARTISTS 2011 Juried Exhibition", The Charles H. Taylor Arts Center, July - August, 2011.
  • "2011 Annual Members' Show, This Century Art Gallery, June - July 2011.
  • "Its all about Color", Pembroke4 Art Gallery, April - July 2011; awarded Second Place.
  • "Through the Eye of a Naturalist" group exhibition, The Williamsburg Regional Library, March 2011.
  • "Hampton Arts League Member's Exhibition" Charles H. Taylor Arts Center, January - February 2011.
  • Brookside Botanical Gardens, “The Art of Seeing”, juried December – February 2011.
  • Peninsula Fine Art Center, “2010 Biennial”, juried October-December, 2010.
  • This Century Art Gallery, “2010 Annual Member Exhibition” – juried June/July, 2010, Lenten Rose painting awarded First Place.
  • The Charles H.Taylor Arts Center, juried “tidewater: Works in Watermedia”, May – July, 2010.
  • Williamsburg Regional Library, “Nature Illustrated, Botanical Illustration and Flower Paintings”, March –April, 2010.
  • Williamsburg Regional Library, Solo exhibition “Botanical Discoveries”, March-April, 2009.

Adult Workshop Instruction
  • The Elizabethan Gardens, Botanical Art Workshops, 2009 to current.
  • The Charles H. Taylor Arts Center, 2011.
  • Visiting artist workshops and private tutoring, 2009 to current.

Memberships
  • American Society of Botanical Artists
  • Botanical Art Society of the National Capital Region
  • Hampton Arts League
  • This Century Art Gallery
  • Virginia Master Naturalists
  • Virginia Watercolor Society

Community Involvement

  • Botanical Art Demonstrations at The Gallery at York Hall
  • Botanical Art Lectures to the general public and community groups
  • Program Committee Member, Williamsburg Botanical Garden
  • Children’s Workshops at 4/H Camp, York County Learning Garden and The Williamsburg Botanical Garden
  • Communications volunteer, This Century Art Gallery
  • Original art donated to local non-profit organizations



How it all started..... 





This drawing was done while on a seven hour flight from London, back to the States in 2007. While we were in Edinburgh, Scotland, we had taken in a fantastic exhibit at Holyrood Castle, featuring original works by several notable natural history artists. There was a book written for this very exhibit that I purchased and sat with every morning and late afternoon while in London---reading about the artists and admiring the exceptional paintings.

The leaves above are featured on the cover. While on our flight back home, we were seated just in front of the "emergency exit" row, because the airline cancelled my husband's return flight reservation and we lost our original seat assignments. The seats did not RECLINE. Not able to relax.....I drew these beautiful leaves from its cover.

That August, I completed my first botanical study of a day flower from our property. Over the next six months, I painted winter specimens from my garden, my nature walks, and even our local library. After taking a scientific drawing course with Lara Call Gastinger at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, I was hooked.

This drawing will always hold a fond memory. My paintings range from portraits of a single subject to larger works with complicated specimens. Each work takes at least one month to complete, so patience and perseverance is a must.

I am ever so grateful to my husband and dear friends who have encouraged my efforts for the past three years. Working as a full time artist requires not only dedication, but an inner passion to grow each day.


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