Artist profile: Linda Morton
Linda Morton has been creating since she could hold a crayon. She believes that anything one does well is an art--painting, writing, sewing, cooking-even keeping a clean house.
She maintains that same open, eclectic mindset with her creations. Morton specializes in photorealistic recreations of detailed subjects like ships, trains, and old homes-anything that has a history.
"I'll draw whatever catches my interest," she said.
She says that certain images demand that she paint them.
"I may put it aside for awhile, but it is insistent-it keeps screaming at me, so eventually I give in," she said.
The most recent photo she gave in to is one of a WWII-era B-17 Bomber, which she has so far spent 18 hours recreating in watercolor. She has already drawn it in colored pencil.
The airplane was at the Huntsville airport a couple of years back, and her husband took a photo of it for her.
Keeping the time it takes to make her creations helps Morton decide how much to charge for each one. A small colored pencil may take around 13 hours, but larger projects, like the watercolor WWII plane, take much longer.
In addition to creating her artwork, Morton teaches private and group art lessons.
"I love teaching people who say they can't draw a straight line...that's what rulers are for," she said.
Morton is very involved in the arts locally. She has served as President of the Art League of Madison, member of Huntsville Botanical Garden Guild, as well as many other organizations. She has had six pieces of her art included in the Huntsville Sketch Book. She works five to six hours a day on her art, but "if I really get going, it could be longer than that," she said. Her dog, a Bison Frise named T-Bumper, and her cat Laptop keep her company while she paints or draws.
Morton came to Madison in 1997 from St. Louis, where she specialized in more craft creations and even owned her own business selling her crafts. Since she came south she has concentrated on more fine art, she said.
Morton is the featured artist at the Clay House Museum for the month of May. She will be the guest of honor at a reception May 6 from 1-3 p.m. at the museum. For more information, contact Robin Brewer at 325-1018 or visit www.Clay-House.com.