Painting the winding path

Photo credit: Stephen Stinson for the publication "Artists Among Us" 

by Liv Stecker 

The pathway through life that makes us who we are has an influence on everything we do, and nowhere is this more visible than the in the work of an artist. For Linda Hyatt Cancel, all of the twists and turns along the way have brought her full circle in both her life and her work, as she finds herself back in her childhood home, painting the world she grew up in. 

When Linda was a small child, her father graduated from the University of Idaho with a teaching degree and took the first job he was offered - in tiny little Northport, Washington. Linda spent her earliest years as a mini-mascot for the school, cheering at all of the sporting events before she was old enough to attend school. Eventually her father was offered a job in Kettle Falls and then in Colville, where he eventually retired. Her parents built a home nestled in the hills between Colville and Kettle Falls, using building materials salvaged from historic buildings from the old Kettle Falls. Linda has fond memories of growing up in the area, in spite of hardships her family faced. When Linda was 7 she had her first job at Meyers Falls Cemetery, picking up dead flowers from the graves for a penny a canful. 

"Dark and Stormy November" 

At 12 years old, Linda’s mother arranged for an artist of local renown, William Pogue, to give her daughter painting lessons. Pogue had established himself as an accomplished artist in the Spokane area before retiring in Kettle Falls. For six years, Linda developed her passion for fine art, learning the effects of light, color and shape in oil painting. 

Immediately after graduation, Linda headed to Spokane, where she enrolled in community college and got a two year degree in Visual Merchandising and Display Design, extending her professional knowledge of developing creations pleasing to the eye. After college, Linda began to work in retail merchandising displays, managing contracts for large department stores in the Spokane area until she moved to the east coast with her husband at the time. 

Raising four children in New Jersey, Linda set aside her love of painting for a time to focus on life with a family, but after a move to South Carolina, she decided it was time to pick up the brushes again. She started painting a body of work and submitting her pieces to local competitions and galleries. Immediately, she began to win awards. The Carolina Gallery in Spartanburg picked her up as an artist in residence, and she was awarded the contract to provide artwork for the local hospital system. 

"Where the 14' alligator lives... But he won't hurt you"

For Linda, she says her artwork is a diary of where she has been in life. “The Pacific Northwest, and especially Stevens County scenes are not as literal as they appear - there is always a story.” She says with a mysterious smile. The Silverado Express became aware of Linda’s work when the paper inadvertently printed one of her paintings as an uncredited photograph in a story in August of 2015. The startlingly realistic depiction of the projection building at AutoView Drive In Theater hearkens to Linda’s days as a young child in Stevens County. Her family was struggling through the illness of her sister, who eventually lost her battle with a rare form of brain cancer. Linda says the fondest memories of those times were car rides along the highway near the Drive In, sharing a Twin Pop popsicle with her sister, and wondering what it was like to see a movie at the theater. The title of the painting, “I Just Wanted To See The Show”, tells the story of the young child on the outside looking in, perhaps climbing the tree to peer over the building, hoping to catch a glimpse of the film that her family couldn’t afford. 

"I just wanted to see the show" in the artist's home

All of Linda’s works reflect her fascination with life, and her experiences along the way. “The pieces that I love the most have not sold,” she muses, “probably because they are so personal.” The struggles in her life are gifts for Linda to draw inspiration of. Loss and new beginnings are common themes in her depictions of landscapes in twilight, an occurrence that she notes happens both in the morning and the evening. Another repeating image for Linda is a bird’s nest, some with small eggs nestled safely within, representing her role as a mother and her understanding of nurture and protection in nature. 

"Play Freebird"

Linda has also painted a series of images of Santa Claus - after her work in South Carolina brought her into contact with a real life version of the Jolly Old Elf - Clifford Snider who ran a printing shop nearby. Cliff became Linda’s inspiration for line of paintings that capture his true-to-life work as Santa Claus for a multitude of non-profit and charity organizations. Beyond the literal joy of bringing Santa to life, her paintings are a representation of child-like faith and hope. 

Cliff Snider with the artist and one of her renderings of Santa Claus

In 2014, Linda returned home to the Colville area after her father passed away, to find her mother unexpectedly ill. She rearranged her plans and moved home to care for her mother for the next ten months, giving her a chance to reconnect with her roots and reevaluate her situation. “Life takes you in a direction,” she says, and you have to have an open heart.” Being home felt so right to Linda, that after her mother passed away, she packed up her studio in South Carolina and moved it back to the Northwest, into her childhood home, where she has converted several rooms into a working studio. “I have established myself well enough that I can work anywhere, but I never expected to come back here, to my house. But I am so happy to be back!” she says exuberantly. She serves on the association board for the Meyers Falls Cemetery where she began earning money as a small child. Continuing her work with the galleries down south, she has begun to build a network with artists and galleries in the Pacific Northwest as well. “I still can’t wrap my head around it, how everything fell into place.” she says. 

The artist's in home studio

Linda’s professional accomplishments offer a long list of prestigious awards, displays and gallery exhibitions. Her work, as well as links to the galleries where she is featured, can be found on her website, lindahyattcancel.com. In 2016, Linda is looking forward to becoming established as the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area Artist In Residence, a program developed by the National Park Service as a way to create a connection between local artists, the nature they depict and the community they live in. For Linda, since her beginning as a 12 year old taking lessons in the Barney’s Junction area, the old Kettle Falls has special meaning to her. “I love this place. I live it. I breathe it.” These are the landscapes that Linda is focusing on in her work right now, the beaches and mountains along the stretches of Lake Roosevelt. After a collection of her works are displayed at the National Recreation Area headquarters, one piece will be part of the permanent collection. Additionally, Linda’s work will be featured in a display at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture in Spokane this September through January. 

Linda at home with her artwork

From her humble beginnings in North Stevens County, to the wide range of life experience in the north east and south of the United States, Linda’s life continues to tell a story on canvas in color and light that communicates some things that words cannot. As a mother, a daughter, an artist and a person, Linda shares her gift of imagination and translation through oil and pigments, painting for us the full pathway of life: the highs and lows, joys and sorrows, beginnings and ends.