Today we’d like to introduce you to Linda Coddington.
Hi Linda, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
It all started with coloring. I can remember, as a little girl, having a little pack of crayons, like 8 in the pack, basic colors. And I would get bored with the colors so I would mix them. I would color blue over green to make turquoise and red over blue to make purple. I would add clouds or rainbows to the plain skies in my coloring books. Or draw flowers in the grass.
Sketch pads of snow white paper were my favorite gift.
From crayons, I progressed to markers, then chalk and oil pastels…and then when I was about 14 my mom gifted me my first set of oil paints for Christmas. And I had no clue what to do with them. She didn’t either! But I figured it out…And the very first thing I painted with them was …a Care Bear (I was a kid!) I painted on a fungus/mushroom thing that grows on the side of a tree. My daughter still has it; it sits on her nightstand.
I think my second was on a piece of old cardboard. From the back of a school tablet. And then on pieces of slate, wood, old saw blades— whatever surface I could possibly paint on. I would make my own birthday and Christmas cards for people and give paintings as gifts.
I have always loved to paint, but I grew up…I started a family of my own, and I had a full time
job, I was just too busy to do it much anymore. Occasionally I would paint something as a gift
for someone for Christmas or a wedding -but not very often…And I always missed it. Always.
As a kid I had dreamed that, one day, I would have my art hanging in a gallery somewhere. Or
maybe even have a studio of my own…and as an adult, I realized I still had that dream.
So a few years ago…when all of my daughters were adults and left the nest, it just seemed
like it was the right time. With a lot of prayer and encouragement from my husband, daughters and siblings, I quit my job in January of 2019 and have been happily painting ever since.
I started out by posting a few things on my FB page and after about two years, my local pharmacy (Berlin Pharmacy) gave me wall space to display and sell my work. I started selling prints of my work and that lead me to Penny Knobel-Besa. Penny is the author of The Forgotten Bear, a book she had written years earlier and never had published. As she was picking up her husband’s work (Artist Hilmar Gottesthal), from our shared printer, she saw my Christmas themed paintings of Berlin and Somerset, Pa. She tells me she knew right away that I was meant to illustrate her book. Hesitant at first, I agreed. And it was one of the most creative, fun and life-changing experiences!
Not long after illustrating The Forgotten Bear, I started a series of whimsical cow paintings. When poems started popping into my head at any and all hours of the day, I jotted them down and eventually self-published my own children’s book, Cow Tales…a collection of bovine rhymes. Those two books pushed me way outside my comfort zone. I have read my book and talked about my journey at schools and libraries around the area. And recently, I leapt FAR from that comfort zone to an interview on FOX 8 News Now with K D O’Day.
This past November, Somerset Trust Company used two of my pieces on their winter billboards in 10 locations. Sometime late this summer (exact date hasn’t been set) Composition Art and Wine Bar in Bedford, Pa will be having a show featuring my artwork. A show of my own has always been my dream. I am so excited and have been super busy working on new pieces for that show.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Yes and no. I feel blessed to be doing what I love and have never regretted my decision to “quit my day job” and follow my dream. I have had so much support within my family and community. Which has been wonderful. But at times I would question the value of my work if I would take it beyond my small circle of devoted fans. When I first started my daughter called one day and asked how many paintings I had sold. When I said none, her follow up question was how many I had actually shown to people. Well, none. So I would say putting my work out there for everyone to see was a challenge. Also, entering pieces in juried exhibits and not having it be accepted, spending a weekend at a vendor show and coming home with almost everything I took….that can be discouraging. But recently I have come to realize that I am painting for the love of it and for the joy it brings folks who want and appreciate what I do. When someone is moved to tears or I get a hug, that’s when I know those other things don’t really matter. I’ll keep painting and filling the walls in my home because a love it too much to stop.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I think what might set me apart from others, is the fact that most of my work is inspired by local spots. Old barns and covered bridges in the area, the elephants at the International Conservation Center (Pittsburgh Zoo) and other wildlife including deer and turkey. Of course the cows from Pennwoods Farm in Berlin and stars of my children’s book, “Cow Tales”.
My favorite thing to paint is trees – whether as part of a larger piece or just a single snow covered pine. My painting of the Angel Oak in South Carolina is one of my most popular.
The one painting that I am most proud of is “Moonlit Memories”. This piece depicts uptown Somerset, Pa, with the Christmas tree in the center of the diamond and includes the iconic Newberry’s store. A local favorite. The idea for this one formed the Christmas of 2020, when lots of us were separated from our loved ones. As I remembered Christmases as a little girl, I thought of Newberrry’s and how I loved going there at Christmas time. For me, the most special part of the piece is that it includes all six of my grandchildren and my husband and I. But for the many others who have purchased prints, it recalls memories of THEIR childhoods. The stories I’ve been told by others and the emotion it stirs, has been such a rewarding experience. Seeing “Moonlit Memories” on billboards for Somerset Trust this past holiday season was the icing on the cake!
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
My best work comes from the everyday things around me. An old barn missing boards is beautiful to me. A rusty old truck or a cow standing in a field will make me stop the car and get a picture. I save photos of beautiful skies and trees with character. I find beauty in the ordinary and my hope is that when I put it on canvas others see it too.
Contact Info:
- Facebook: Linda Coddington or Backroad Reflections
