Peace and Joy in the Process with Linda Etherington

Linda Etherington is our guest for this interview. She creates beauty in her art, home, and family. Regarding creating, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf said, “The more you trust and rely upon the Spirit, the greater your capacity to create. That is your opportunity in this life and your destiny in the life to come...trust and rely on the Spirit. As you take the normal opportunities of your daily life and create something of beauty and helpfulness, you improve not only the world around you but also the world within you.” A brief sketch of Linda: "I love love love love love to paint. I love color. And, blessedly, color is everywhere!! I love shape!! And—thank the heavens—everything’s a shape: organic and geometric and all in between. I love space—positive space, negative space, and, mercy me, it’s everywhere I look! How can I be so blessed to have eyes to see color, shapes, and space and live in a time when women are encouraged to paint? It is a feast—every day. Born in Washington state, I am the fourth of seven children. I grew up on a small 10 acre farm where my dad worked during the day as an engineer but spent his early mornings and late evenings teaching us how to change water lines, milk the cow, feed the sheep, throw bales of alfalfa hay, and tend the chickens. Mom taught us how to keep the house, bake the bread, and get our homework done. My mom also taught me to paint. After years of watercolors, drawing pencils, oil pastels, and crayons, I received my first oil painting set when I was 12. It was beautiful, like shiny candy. But I was so confused what to do. So, we painted. She showed me how to draw with my brush. It made sense to me. I am forever grateful to my mother. My mom and dad were my biggest fans. I took classes at the college with my mom when I was in high school. Then I was off to Brigham Young University (BYU) where I studied painting with an art scholarship and graduated with a BFA in Painting. Over the next 14 years, my husband and I were blessed with seven daughters and almost as many moves with my husband’s job. Our little girls filled my life with new color, new shapes, new spaces, and new brain challenges. All through it, I worked hard at being a mom, and I worked hard when our neighbor came twice a week so I could sneak away and paint for 3 hours. Sometimes a little one would need me and I would rock them on my hip while I painted. It felt good holding onto my love of painting and my love of mothering. Now, my family is still growing. I have married daughters and grandchildren. I still love love love love love love to paint. Shapes and colors still call out to me; I sing back to them, and I paint." To see Linda’s art, visit @lindalovestopaint on Instagram or at lindaetherington.com.