About the Artist

I am a self-taught artist living and working on beautiful Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.  Growing up on the east coast of Canada, I always had showed an interest in art and was always drawing and doodleing as a child.  Years later while my children were still quite young I took an interest in folk art painting and could be found most evenings, after the children were in bed, in my studio painting on wood cutouts which I found a market for at various craft shows.  After my family and I moved to the West Coast of Canada in 1993 my life mainly revolved around my children and I found I didn't have much time for my crafts.  Always in the back of my mind I felt I had a creative side that I just was not expressing.  I finally found what it was after taking a watercolor workshop at the local community centre.  I fell in love with the medium even though I was somewhat frustrated by the fact that I was having to wait for drying time on my paintings.  It was by pure luck that I discovered the medium of soft pastel.  I was sent a book about pastels for a Christmas present and the rest is history.  As soon as I bought my first box of pastels I was immediately hooked.  I love the fact that there is no drying time and I can see immediate results.  I love the beauty that layering brings to the painting as well as the texture that I can achieve in my animal portraits.  I continue to discover new things about my creativity every time that I start a new painting. 

                                                                                        Linda Yurgensen