Like It or Not—Linda Ward Inspires Us
As promised, our first post for “Like It or Not—It Inspires Us” will be about Detroit artist Linda Ward!
Early in her career, I began following Linda’s work on Instagram and, over the summer, I had the chance to meet with the Detroit-based artist and travel to her studio. Linda is an incredible burgeoning talent in the art world and as she navigates the art circuit, she also continues to challenge her own artwork. Linda’s “500 Portraits” series is an exercise in color, quantity, strict parameters, and her own artistic expression.
Linda is a kind soul, with amazing energy and spirit and someone I felt an immediate connection with. When talking with Linda, one can feel her passion and excitement, not just for her own work, but for the art world she is slowly becoming a part of! Despite being a Michigan-native, with limited access to art and culture, Linda was always encouraged as a child to nurture her artistic side. She knew as a child that she always wanted to be a painter. “Growing up in Michigan, exploring my artistic side was encouraged, but it was not an environment for someone to naturally fall into this art world.”
When Linda had first decided to put herself and her paintings out there, it was a leap of faith. She had no plan, no website, and figured she could sell them, but had no idea on how to actually do that. Though Linda had shown her work before, in December of 2018, she decided to really put her art out in the public sphere. Within days of posting to her Instagram about her upcoming art show, she had people contacting her about buying her art. “I had to do my research based on the stage of my career at that point in time and the time I had already invested in the series. I needed to look up price points that I thought was fair for my art.” Within two weeks though, Linda had already sold six or seven of her paintings. It was the kind of confidence boost Linda needed to push forward and really pursue her artistic career!
While creating her “500 Portraits” series, Linda found it to be an incredible healing process. “When things were out of alignment in my own life, I would be working and progressing along in the series and those things would then right themselves.” Her art was always one step ahead of her. Regardless of her plan or vision for her art, the painting was always going to become what is wanted to be. “What I love about the creative process is a certain kind of mystery behind it.” One thing Linda had to learn to do was ride the wave of self-doubt as an artist. It’s something every artist goes through and those that can ride that wave are the ones that succeed. Though she recognizes that it is ultimately a good thing, Linda still finds herself facing those self-doubts every time she’s in the studio and acknowledges that it’s a frustrating part of the creative process.
Since Linda and I connected through social media, we eventually ended up speaking about its impact on our lives and in our businesses. As Linda said, “There’s an accessibility we didn’t have before. But I also think there is an oversaturation in the market, to a point where maybe people become desensitized to this kind of stuff. But I think all-in-all it has helped. People know what they like more and are able to get in contact with those things.” On the one hand, navigating the world of social media can be treacherous. Those that we follow, the posts that we like, the constant flood of information; how much of it enriches our lives and how much just congests our feed? I understand social media is a necessary evil. So much of benton buckley books’ online presence and how we connect with our clients is through our Instagram. It allowed me to connect with Linda and find an appreciation for her art. I hope Linda’s art touches you in a similar way it has touched me. You can find her art on her website.