Nature comes alive under artist's brush

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A Blue Heron stands quietly at a lake's edge, waiting by the reeds as an on-coming storm makes its ways across the water. The vision is so real, a viewer can almost smell the dampness and feel the warm breeze coming off the lake while looking at artist Linda Kinnard's painting.

Kinnard strives for perfection in her art. But not of a photo-perfect type.

"It's not that I want to do exact pictures. I'm exploring different expressions, something I saw in a situation," says the petite Native artist.

After growing up surrounded by nature in Atikokan, Ontario and travelling with her trapper-builder father, Kinnard holds close ties with the land. But she travelled a long way before choosing to dedicate herself to representing what she sees and loves.

Kinnard raised a family and started a timber contracting business she still runs with her husband Douglas in Edson, Alberta before settling down to painting. While always interested in art, celebrating her 40th birthday proved a pivotal moment for the energetic Kinnard.

"I only started painting seriously three years ago when I turned 40. It dawns on you that you better get going while you can," she said, with a laugh. "But I'm determined. It takes a lot of discipline to sit at that easel."

Talent and hard work is a potent mixture. Kinnard spends eight to 10 hours a day working on her paintings. She also combines artistic expression with business savvy, promoting and marketing her originals and prints herself.

Kinnard and her husband read books, prowled galleries and networked with other artists to find the best way of exhibiting their work. The option of working with someone else as a manager didn't appeal to Kinnard. "He was the only one I wanted to work with. And without his support, helping with the timber business which frees me up for this, I couldn't have made it," she said.

Animals and landscapes, including typical scenes from timber lines, make up the bulk of Kinnard's work. The oil and acrylic paintings are loving, sometimes humorous depictions of common sights made special by the artist's eye.

Kinnard's work can be viewed at Snowbird Gallery at West Edmonton Mall. Prints of several original pieces are also available.