About the Artist

Linda and Millard (Mick) were married on Bainbridge Island, WA and finished remodeling an historic farmhouse that Mick, a former architect, had been working on for years. Mick was also taking a painting class in Seattle from Ron Lukas, a renowned painter in the tradition of Russian Impressionism, which is known for strong emotive landscapes and portraits based on precise color relationships. Linda, who had always been creative, wanted to improve her watercolor painting, but realized she needed to work on drawing technique first. Mick suggested Linda join him at his weekly painting class, where she would learn to draw as he had. Linda took to the work with passion and quickly excelled.

When Mick’s youngest son graduated from college, Mick and Linda followed their love of baseball to southeastern Arizona, where they subsequently lived for 17 years—designing and building a passive solar house, painting in oils, having joint and solo art shows, connecting with the artists’ community, traveling, and spending time in Mexico. But the pull of Bainbridge never faded.

In 2015 the couple returned to the island.

Refuge and Relief

A year after their return to Bainbridge, Linda’s father took his own life. Heartbroken, Linda poured her grief into her garden. “I threw myself into the yard and the landscape. The garden became my sanctuary. My plants were my prayers.”A shoulder injury and hand issue had forced Linda to give up painting regularly. While the garden was the focal point of Linda’s healing, the fine artist within her beckoned. “Two or three years ago, when I was at one of my lowest points, I ran across an article in an art magazine about a woman doing bas relief. I put the article aside, but I didn’t forget about it,” Linda says. “Last year, I ran across the article again. I decided it was time to begin. The learning curve is tough, in part because there isn’t much information on this technique. I started experimenting with different clays and plasters, taking plants from my yard and creating from the place of plants as prayers.” The result is botanical bas-relief tiles that reflect Linda’s voice, aesthetic, and a lifetime of interest and observation in the natural world. “Nature is tough, tenacious, and comforting,” Linda says. “I lived a large portion of my childhood with my grandparents on Green Springs Mountain in Oregon. Hours were spent playing with my brother in streams, ponds, and meadows filled with wildflowers.”

Each of Linda’s pieces is one-of-a-kind. “Everything I learned about design, composition, and negative space transfers from painting to what I do with the tiles. I’m very lucky to have had that training,” she observes. Mick adds: “Everything comes together with Linda’s tiles. They’re a wonderful synergy of her artistic strengths and passion.”

Color Wheel

Mick became serious about painting when his children were still young. “Thirty-three years ago, I was harried single parent with primary custody, trying to start a new architectural business. Overwhelmed by time management, I went to see a counselor. She asked me: ‘What are you doing for yourself? What do you like to do?’ Honestly, I couldn’t even wrap my mind around those questions. Finally, I said, ‘Well…I used to like to draw’ committed to taking a nearby drawing class once a week. That class led me to study painting with Ron Lukas. I had a lot of trepidation about painting because I’m colorblind. But I persisted.”

Over the years, Mick relied heavily on Linda for guidance with his color palette, which he had to memorize until color-corrective lenses became available.“I was floored by Mick’s commitment and dedication to painting, given the challenge of colorblindness,” Linda says. “He’s incredibly disciplined and consistent in his work, which I respect. I don’t create that way.”

Mick’s motivation to paint comes from a desire to connect.” I like connecting with people emotionally through my work. I enjoy creating images that people can relate to. I appreciate representational work because I enjoy learning more about what I’m seeing. I learn more about the world around me. And, at the same time, I’m learning more about myself.” In November 2019 Mick, a lifelong non-smoker, was diagnosed with Non Small Cell Lung Cancer which soon became metastatic. To avoid the toxicity in solvents and some oil paints Mick seriously began studying transparent watercolor, which he continues to this day.

Creative Commons

Linda and Mick work from adjacent studio spaces at their home on Bainbridge Island. “We’ve always shared the same studio space,” Linda says. “This is the first time I’ve had a solo studio. It’s great to have a place where I can go for solitude, quiet reflection, and creating.” While the couple no longer shares a studio, they are still united in a shared aesthetic. “There’s a level of respect we have for each other, and we trust each other with input,” Linda says. “Whether it’s input we want—or not. We listen to it.” “We really do work hand in glove,” Mick agrees. “Just the other day, Linda looked at a portrait I finished, and she could see right away what I needed to fix. We always work better together. In the yard, the studio, or selecting something at Costco,” he says with a laugh.