I was born in Ogden, Utah but my family soon moved to Washington state, & again at the age of 11, we moved to San Diego. Most of my early leisure life was spent at the beach & my family spent vacations camping at the National & State parks. My mother & father's love of nature & travel rubbed off & has greatly influenced my lifestyle so much so that after college at San Diego State I joined the airlines (Western which later merged with Delta) as a flight attendant (at that time we were called stewardesses), with the intent to work 2 years & then return to college or a 'career'. Twenty one years later I retired, what a great job, I traveled to Europe, New Zealand, Tahiti, etc. During that time I met & married my husband & life partner, Greg.
Greg & I have lived most of our lives in the country (or near country), surrounded by horses, dogs & cats. We have now moved from Southern California to Northern Minnesota, just for the beauty of it. This country lends itself wonderfully to inspiring me in studying & creating artwork of my favorite subject, wildlife. We built a home overlooking a gorgeous natural environment lake and are surrounded with forests on 3 sides. What a great place to view wildlife and raise our pets and lower our blood pressure.
Some of the events that have lent themselves to my love & knowledge of wildlife are having taken many, treks through the Sierras on horseback, horse & cattle drives, some for up to 11 days at a time. I also worked as a volunteer at the Exotic Feline Breeding Compound in Rosemond, CA caring for and lecturing about endangered & rare species of wild cats. Our home life, up until a few years ago, always revolved around working with & raising horses. Prior to buying our first home we lived, for two years, on a remote working ranch where we cared for cattle, buffalo, horses, deer, peacocks and lots of chickens & geese.
A recent trip to Africa has been a highlight of my travels. My sister & I took a private 'safari' through Kenya. It was as wonderful as I had always dreamed it would be and my Greg & I plan to travel there soon. My daughter lives in Hawaii and so I must travel there and to Los Angeles to visit my mother, sister, granddaughter & yes, great grand daughter as often as I can - not too difficult to do.
I have been blessed with a hugely supportive family & in finding such a fulfilling vocation.
LINDA WALKER'S ARTIST STATEMENT & BIOGRAPHY
Personal
Artist Statement
"I paint what my heart tells me to paint" Linda Walker
Linda’s detailed paintings of wildlife are widely sought after and are included in books such as Best of Wildlife Artists II and recently in featured articles in Wildlife Artists Magazine & Horses in Art among, others. She has many times been a featured artist at wildlife art shows and often won top awards in competitions and been extended invitations to exhibitions such as the Artists for the New Century & San Bernardino, Reflections of Nature & San Dimas Wildlife Festivals. She also participates as signature and artist member of several art associations. Currently she volunteers on the board of WAOW as co-chair of membership and has built and maintains their private forum.
Creating artwork has always been her choice of communication; it is augmented with schooling, and a wide variety of carefully selected workshops on painting, photography and sculpture. She is always striving to learn more and finds that giving workshops of her own is a way of bettering her own work.
“I am so grateful that I’ve found this way to express and communicate my love of our environment in a medium that is so personally satisfying.”
Family Snaps
