In 2002, Linda Lucas Hardy made a decision to refer to herself as a professional artist. Since that decision her art, and/or articles, have been published in thirty-four magazines and twenty books. Her work has been juried into more than 80 National and International exhibitions and she's won an equal number of awards and honors, many being Best of Show. She is an 24 year veteran of colored pencil instruction and has taught Oil Painting for 12 years. Linda has taught classes and workshops in 15 states and 2 countries to hundreds of students aged 8 to 88.

 

None if it came easy however. Living in a small town, having few resources and no mentors or advisers meant she had to be her own motivator and teacher. Linda realized the necessity of using what she had, meager as that might be, or give up and do nothing. Doing nothing means a dream can never be realized, so it was never an option. For her, the unknown became the inevitable...it's called flying by the seat of your pants.

 

Before making the transition to oil in 2008 Linda spent eighteen years working in colored pencil, which is where she garnered most of her notoriety. Experience and determination had been a close ally so she believed she could teach herself oil as she had taught herself colored pencil...or as she prefers to say, let the medium teach her. It didn't take long before she realized it was not going to be as straight forward as she thought. The brush wouldn't cooperate and the paint was not helping. No matter what she did the brush was not going to be a pencil. After a painful and frustrating two-year battle a breakthrough came when a little voice said, "Linda, take what you learned from colored pencil and apply it to oil." That one thought opened up a whole world of possibilities. From that point on everything changed. Linda eventually started experimenting with transparent glazes, much like layering in colored pencil, and became intrigued. Even though glazing is time consuming and takes considerable pre-planning she prefers that to painting Alla Prima, a term meaning paintings done in one sitting. At long last the frustration ceased and a joy of learning took its place.

 

She is a fifteen-year merit award recipient in the Colored Pencil Society of America, past President of CPSA 215, the Dallas/Ft Worth District Chapter and past President of CPSA 222, the Texarkana Chapter of the Colored Pencil Society of America. For several years she served on the board of the National Oil and Acrylic Painters (NOAPS) of America. Linda is a Signature member of the Irving Art Association and has been member of  the Mt. Pleasant Texas Art Society over 30 years.