In these posts, Linda discusses the importance and power of having a mentor. She also talks about her personal journey through the decades.  

“Very few artists meet our Master Artist criteria – being invited into the Mastrius Master community should be recognized and celebrated!”                                       

 —Mastrius, Ginger Pagenkopf

The Beginning

On a very personal note, I started painting shortly after suffering many miscarriages and a hysterectomy. As I recovered from the surgery, I told myself that there had to be more to my life than baby diapers. I hope that brought a chuckle. Everyone who knows me understands I worked in Baby Care for Procter & Gamble. Don’t get me wrong, there was a challenge that I presented myself which I was still working toward. I was among the very few promoted to management with no college degree. 

No small feat accomplished after 23 years of experience. Is it any wonder I refer to those years as working at P&G University?

But I digress, and those years could be a whole different topic. Looking back on it, I never sought out a mentor. I had managers and only a few who actually mentored me. To those handful of managers, I am eternally thankful. During my childhood, I wrote all the time. Creating stories and scripts for my favorite shows. Yes, I wrote all my life and continue to write to this day. The Blind Series was birthed in my twenties after reading the Bourne Identity, and I was so mad at Robert Ludlum that I threw down the book and picked up my pen. Creativity and a desire to attend the University of Southern California for scriptwriting and directing have always been in my blood. Alas, that never happened. But it’s okay.

As I recalled all of this after my surgery, I decided I wanted to learn how to paint. I checked around, and the Middletown (Ohio) Arts Center (MAC) had oil painting classes on Thursday nights. This became my escape from the work that increasingly dominated my life. My first instructor was Larry Dowd. He was a realtor in real life and a wonderful, funny man who lit up the studio at the MAC when he entered. He instructed us with several “required” paintings. We complained about red-checkered tablecloths. And the eggs positioned on a white plate with a white coffee cup strategically drew many groans. I remember struggling through the first required painting–which I still have–only to present him with a photo of the “something I want to paint” second painting. He shook his head, laughed, and told me I was being ambitious. 

The photo was of Claude Monet’s painting of the Bridge at Argenteuil, 1874. I begged him, and after some negotiation, Larry relented. I surprised him. I surprised myself. My study of Monet’s painting won honorable mention at that year’s student show. It also raised Larry’s opinion of my abilities, and he pushed me until the day of his death. For weeks, I couldn’t walk into the MAC without crying. 

After accomplishing what I wanted and after yet another surgery, I decided it was time to part ways with good ole Uncle Procter (and his brother Gamble). I resigned from my project manager position to become a full-time artist and writer. Life began!

I was asked to join the Board of Governors for the MAC. We needed a fundraiser, so I suggested we ask some master artists if they would be willing to exhibit in the MAC’s wonderful gallery space. This fellow named Kevin Macpherson was crossing my radar constantly. Every local artist I studied with or talked to mentioned Kevin. I suggested we ask him because he seemed popular with the local artists. 

Life is full of challenges, and the board presented me with their expectations of what needed to happen before they would confirm Kevin’s show. All expectations were met, and a full year before Kevin’s exhibition, I started working with Kevin as his assistant. Kevin became my second mentor. 

So many fun memories of this time. There were so many discussions as Kevin could see my abilities, pushing me to think about my creations. The growth during these years was fabulous. We exhibited his Reflections On A Pond in several places and started Artist Mentors Online and Art Chat podcast (before podcasting was a thing). We traveled to New Zealand for “Passport and Palette” (a PBS show Kevin was filming with Joe Anna Arnett and James Asher). We ended up at St. Andrews by the Sea for another workshop–my first outside the US. 

As hard as Kevin tried to make me a plein air painter, I became a “complein air painter.” Kevin used the term at one of his Taos workshops, and it fit me to a tee! I enjoyed painting in my studio more and more. I enjoy taking my time and studying my work. I also enjoy cycling, golfing, hiking, and other outdoor activities that allow me to explore the light and nature. While others walk down a fairway and decide which clubs to hit, I look at light and shadow, colors, values, and design paintings in my head. I can’t tell you how many times I walked past my ball.  

Through the Art Chat podcast and vodcast, I was fortunate to interview many master artists on various topics. We tackled composition, values, color and color theory, discovering our voice, the journey of being an artist, and how we should seek simplicity in our work. I have been producing Art Chat for 13 years. I cherish it and the friendships I developed over those years. It is nice knowing I can turn to a few master artists when I am stuck or need propping up. 

In my next post, I’ll discuss the difference between a mentor and an instructor. But there you have my early years as a beginner on this art journey. It has been a wonderful time, and it keeps getting better.