Artist develops in 'warm and receptive' West

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Linda Kennard has had some artistic inspiration since her teens. She grew up in northwestern Ontario, where she was surrounded by nature. Her large family was supportive of her painting. She attended art courses at the Quetico Arts Training Centre in Ontario but, before she could put her skill in use, she became a wife and a mother. For years, she put her painting aside and focused on her family, while building successful timber contracting business.

At the age of 40, Kennard made a life-changing decision. She decided to finally become at artist. She sold her contracting business, moved from a spacious family house, and renovated an old general store into a gallery and home. She and her husband Doug began Kennard Originals. Now the gallery, which doubles as her home, is established as the Wild Rose Gallery and displays her work and the work of other artists.

The move from Ontario to Alberta in 1990 was crucial in Kennard's decision to become an artist. Alberta was a new market for her paintings and she describes westerners as "warm and receptive" to her work. In the years 1992 and '93, Kennard felt that her personal style began to develop and evolve through her paintings. She describes her style as "dreamy interpretation" full of "semi-real images." For her, painting is a form of self-expression. She is more concerned with creating a mood from her images than producing a photo-perfect picture.

Kennard is pleasantly surprised that artists are deemed respectable in the '90's Like any occupation an artist must be dependable and discipline. Kennard has always been receptive to what customers want and versatile in her skill. She takes in custom work such as portraits of family or pets. Although she would love to paint her leisure, she acknowledges the business aspect of her work. She realizes the importance of deadlines and she understands the financial need to frame her paintings and buy new canvas. She paints for eight to 10 hours a day or she spends the hours promoting her work. Kennard is part of Prairie Fine Arts Publishing and, in the last seven years, she has been part of 30 art shows, including the International show in Germany.

Kennard has decisions to make in the future. She is open to the possibility of going to school to obtain her Bachelor of Fine Arts, but more importantly, she does not want to stop what is happening with her painting. She knows that she wants a place to work and develop her ideas. She also hopes to build a log studio in the back yard of her gallery-home.