I am an artist from the days when paintings were necessarily done manually, on some sort of physical surface [like canvas]. I was around when the first color photographs replaced B and W. At that point, I got my first small camera, which kept me satisfied for many years. I didn't get my first digital camera until 2006.

Now, I love creating art on the computer, starting with my digital photos. My first serious photo manipulation program was Arcsoft Photo Studio, and I do what I can with it - which is a surprising amount, considering it is not Photoshop!. Update: in April, 2010, a long-time dream came true - I purchased a Wacom tablet and pen, which came with Corel Painter 4 included. With these two powerful tools, whole new worlds have opened up.

[And that was before Corel Painter 11 was given to me as a gift, in November 2011 ]

The beauty of the natural word is my great inspiration. I like camping, hiking, and kayaking in quiet waters - with my little camera handy at all times, of course. My father was a home-spun designer and builder, and he designed and built 12 boats in his lifetime, and as a result of his love for water, we grew up boating. We ended up on Lake George, NY, which is called the Queen of American Lakes because it has the clearest water on the East Coast - outside of Florida, that is! But it is a wonderful lake. I have a full set of photos on Flickr, which show the lake in all of its moods, including during a freak hurricane [Irene] that hit. But it mostly has classic shots of glassy water, Loons, and rocky shorelines, backed by the hills of the Adirondacks.

My husband and I are retired, and manage a small farm in the hill country of New York State. Large vegetable and flower gardens keep us busy. It is still pretty rural here, with woods to walk in. And to the north are the wonderful Adirondack Mountains, land that I love.

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I might add that I was a Botany major and before that, I attended the School of Visual Arts in NYC. I enjoyed the art school, but felt I would never make a living with my artwork. And my love of science was growing; so I changed direction. The end result is that today, I love painting botanical subjects! Landscapes, and water in some form is highly desirable too. Mountains also.

The crack photographers who share their work on Flickr will note that my little camera is small and simple. It's only a tool for me, to record what I love: great composition. [2020 Update - I finally graduated to a fine camera, the Nikon D5000, which enables me to get macro shots with the bokeh I always dreamed about.]

A lot of my time now is spent creating digital paintings from my photos. It is a very satisfying way of "painting"! My work is now for sale on my personal website:

linda-seifried.artistwebsites.com/

Digitally painted self portrait - November 2012