As a child, Linda Ball loved to draw and color with pencils. She loved art then as much as she does now, but life got in the way. During her younger years, she funneled her artistic tendencies into other areas of her life. She sewed all her own clothes, delighted in decorating her homes and making things to enhance their beauty. At the time, she never realized that her obsession with the angle of a picture on the dresser or table had everything to do with artistic balance.
At 34 she entered an unconventional college program at the University of Massachusetts and completed her undergrad degree in Information Technology and Management. Several years later she earned her MBA at the Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. She spent over forty years of her life working in technology and held pretty much every position imaginable in the field. She ended her career as a Director of the Project Management Office in Information Technology at the University of the Pacific. During her twelve years with the university, in addition to her full-time position, she was an adjunct teacher and developed programs for new and aspiring young project managers.
In 2018, she retired and worked on home projects that she had not had time for while working. Because her project list was finally complete boredom took over. In 2020, at the encouragement of her sister, she ordered an acrylic paint set and decided to try her hand at painting. She felt her skill level was very limited and took a few YouTube lessons and became hooked.
At the very start she followed a self-taught artist out of the Philippines. John Magne Lisondra was instrumental in teaching her the basic acrylic skills. However, she was unsatisfied with the final look of acrylics and started working with oils. Michael James Smith, a United Kingdom online teacher helped her develop her skills immensely. She credits him with teaching her the basics of color mixing, tones, values, and saturation. She recently explored pastels with Marla Baggetta out of Washington state and watercolors with Scott Swinson out of Tasmania Australia. Linda’s formal art schooling has been limited, but she continues to learn new ways of doing things every day. She recently started plein air painting with some fellow EGFAC members and is learning that plein air requires skills she will need to develop. Linda’s favorite medium to date is oil. Her favorite compositions are animals and birds because of the details required. One final note about Linda is that with every painting, Linda writes a poem. The poem provides her reflections on the composition and in her opinion completes her creativity.
Sample Works
