Linda Wells       I have been an artist all of my life. I was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, attended the University of New Mexico and later I moved to San Francisco, California, where I studied at the San Francisco Art Institute and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. After moving to Boulder, Colorado, I earned an Associates degree in Advertising and Graphic Design from the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design in Denver. I worked as a graphic designer and freelance illustrator for many years, all the while continuing to paint and entering juried shows. These days I am concentrating on my fine art, and my subject matter includes landscapes, animals, and still lifes. I am also an accomplished portrait painter, both of people and animals. My equine art has been featured in articles in both Horses in Art and Western Horseman magazines.      In past years, I have created artwork in many different media, including pencil, pen and ink, etching, lithography, airbrush acrylic, and colored pencils. After many years of painting only in transparent watercolors, I now enjoy painting primarily in oils on canvas.      “In my paintings, I enjoy influencing the viewer’s attention by working with the relationships between contrasting values, hard and soft edges, warm and cool colors, and positive and negative space. I am fascinated by the effects that light has on an object or landscape, and it is fun for me to try to capture that in a painting. I am always learning, and each painting is a journey full of fun and interesting challenges.”      My paintings have been exhibited in many regional and national exhibitions. My work hangs in private collections throughout the United States. I was a Signature member of the Pikes Peak Watercolor Society, the Kansas Watercolor Society, the Taos National Society of Watercolorists, and the Southern Colorado Watercolor Society. I was also an Associate member of the Transparent Watercolor Society of America. I am a past President of the Pikes Peak Watercolor Society. At the present time, I have let my Signature memberships to these watercolor societies lapse due to my concentration on my oil paintings. I am currently an Associate Member of Oil Painters of America and Women Artists of the West, Inc. I am also a member of the Longmont Artist's Guild, and Plein Aire Painters of Estes Park. My artwork can be seen at my studio in Loveland CO, at the Art Center of Estes Park Gallery in Estes Park, CO, and on my website: www.lindawellsart.com