Featured artist finds creative outlet in ceramics, painting and more

Linda Strain spreads her creativity around as a multi-media artist who does ceramics, crafts, photography, painting and more.
 Strain was selected as the featured artist for September by the Four County Art Guild, an organization that seeks to promote an appreciation of visual art in Washington, Payette, Adams and Malheur counties.
 In the past year, she has focused on painting with acrylics on canvas and completed a few pieces, including animal and human portraits. She also got an opportunity to work with pastels, watercolors and wood burning.
 A selection of Strain’s mixed-media artwork is currently on display at Zions Bank in downtown Weiser. The exhibit includes drawings, acrylic on canvas landscapes and animals, photography and painted ceramics.
 Looking back, Strain said even as a child she liked to draw with pencil and paper. Horses were her favorite subjects and still are. At age 10 she wanted to take art classes but financial circumstances intervened. When the flour mill burned in Weiser, her dad was out of work and there simply wasn’t any money for art classes. She had to put her dreams of becoming an artist on hold.
 Over the years, she got married and raised a family. She learned to make ceramics, dolls and crocheted animals when her children were small. She set much of that aside for a career.
 “I just kind of dabbled in things, in my drawing and painting. I did a lot of crafts, not thinking they were really art projects,” she said.
 She did get to do a lot of photography during the 27 years she worked for the U.S. Forest Service. She worked out of the Weiser office in recreation, which took her all over the Payette National Forest and most of the time she had a camera with her.
 One of her favorite photos was taken at Oxbow Reservoir. The light was just right and the surface of the reservoir had a mirror image, reflecting the sky on the water. She also came across a lone wolf once and was able to capture it on film.
 “The forest is an amazing palette,” she said.
 After retiring from the Forest Service, Strain decided she wanted to do ceramics, both as fine art and functional art, and started painting plates at Marbella’s Pottery Painting and Mosaic studio in Weiser. After a photo of one of her painted ceramic plates was posted on Facebook, she received a lot of positive feedback on her artistic ability.
 She also began working with acylics on canvas and joined the art guild. With her painting, Strain likes realism, filling in the details, “the fine work” of rendering a subject as it really appears. She uses a photo as a guide and her paintings suggest she is fond of bright colors. She isn’t ready yet to delve into the abstract style of painting.  
 “Eventually, I may get to where I do abstract,” she said.
 She paints when she is inspired or when someone asks her to do a work of art. She did a piece for her sister of a beloved pet rendered in acylic on wood that turned out fantastic. She stained the wood and frame and did some burning, in addition to painting it.
 Strain said she tries to improve with every new work of art she begins. Maybe it’s adding another face to a portrait or in some way striving for progress as an artist.
 “I like to challenge myself to do something a little different each time,” she said.
 Strain is married to husband Ron. When she is not creating art, she likes to grow a garden full of flowers, a profusion of color, not unlike paint on a canvas.
 The Four County Art Guild is a big supporter of arts in local schools. The guild awards ribbons and cash to the best student artwork during the school year. The guild also gives schools money to help purchase art supplies for students.
 The guild is always looking for artists to showcase their works, and artists do not have to be a member of the guild to become a featured artist. The guild also sponsors the self-guided art tour located in a variety of local businesses around Weiser, where the art works of members are on display.