Linda Budge
Artist's Statement/Quote
I am truly grateful that God has given me the gift of art and the ability to communicate through my paintings. It is always a joy for me when I can bring an animal to life by sharing its spontaneous sense of expression with the viewer.
Linda Budge paints expression. The subjects usually have four legs and a variety of ears, noses and tails. Sometimes, they might be found creeping through the desert, perched on a saguaro, or just standing in somebody’s back yard. Wherever they are, Linda has learned to capture their look, their expression, and their attitude!
Linda grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah where she learned to sketch and paint animals at her family’s cabin in the Wasatch Mountains. She didn’t start living her dream of becoming an artist until she moved to St. Louis, Mo. where she enrolled in a correspondence course from the Famous Artists School. She officially became a professional artist at the local mall doing cat portraits for $5.00. Linda attributes her expertise in the dog world, her distinct edge for painting accurately, and most importantly, for capturing expression to her years as a professional dog handler.
When her husband’s job took them to Colorado, Linda continued painting wildlife, expanding her repertoire to include dogs. Dogs moved to the forefront when the national conservation group, Ducks Unlimited, asked her to produce a number of dog images to use for their fund-raising events. Oklahoma Ducks Unlimited honored her with the Artist of the Year award in 1995, and she was recognized as a Colorado Ducks Unlimited honoree in 1999.
Since becoming an Arizona resident, she has become a “Master of Expression.” Her paintings exude a vibrancy and expression rarely found in animal art.
The Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind invited Linda to create an image for their 50th Anniversary celebration, and the original painting hangs in the Foundation’s National Administrative Center in Smithtown, New York.
Linda has been in group and solo exhibitions, including “The Contemporary Canine Works” from the Artists Registry (1996-97) at the American Kennel Club Dog Museum. Her dog portraits have been featured on covers and articles for The American Kennel Gazette, Sirius, Canine Collectibles, Business Views, The Golden Discovery, and Colorado Ducks Unlimited.
Her career includes many highlights: Former President Ronald Reagan was so taken with his Linda Budge painting that he hung it over the fireplace in the Western White House and it now hangs in the private quarters of the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California. Another notable accomplishment is that Linda has been juried into the prestigious Cheyenne Frontier Days Western Art Show for 23 consecutive years.
Awards/Special Exhibits
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