Linda T Cooke
Art by Granny
"I will sing of the goodness of God..."
I live near Toronto, Canada, with my husband and our Labradoodle, Meg. As a child, I was fascinated by drawing and colour. As I grew older, school and career decisions became priorities. I followed my dream of becoming a registered nurse, and I found my role as a coronary care / ICU nurse especially rewarding. Although I saw nursing as a true “calling,” I kept up an active interest in art.
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When my sister-in-law showed me some of her watercolour paintings, my artistic spark was rekindled! I couldn’t wait to buy my own paint, brushes, and books. From there, I took classes and spent all my spare time absorbed in painting detailed floral themes.
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After a while I explored using watercolours in a multi-media context, focusing on figures and faces. My love of art heightened my enthusiasm for learning new and varied techniques. I kept exploring artistic approaches, taking classes, and earned a diploma in graphic design from the International Academy of Design & Technology, Toronto.
As time went on, I gravitated more and more toward using pencils to draw portraits. I explored techniques to create my own designs and to capture likenesses from reference photos. A number of online tutorials offered by pencil artists really helped me improve my drawing skills --to name a few: Shannon Mullins, Bonny Snowdon, Amie Howard, Toni Burt and Natalie Eslick.
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But it doesn’t stop there. I'm still learning, so stay tuned.
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I'm hoping that my creative journey just might encourage you to follow your own artistic dream. If you have ever felt the urge to dabble in arts or crafts, my advice is, "Don't wait, just try it!"
You very well may be in for a very exciting surprise.
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Wishing you peace. Let's keep in touch.
