Loveta Strickland

Loveta Strickland’s successful artistic career testifies not only her talent, but her determination, diligence, and a touch of serendipity. The mother of four, Strickland began training in art 36 years ago when the only child left at home was her 11 year old son. When her youngest indicated an interest in art, Strickland promptly enrolled him in a children’s art class. The second time she dropped him off at class. Her son made a suggestion that launched her new career. The artist laughs as she recalls the incident “my son suggested that instead of making two trips back and forth I should pick up some art supplies and paint along with him.”

Although Strickland’s mother began to paint at age 69, and continued until her death at 81, and all her brothers and sisters were artistically inclined, she had never thought of art in terms of a career. Nevertheless, her innate talent allowed her to quickly pick up the fundamentals. “Just a short time into painting, I went wild,” she says. Her first painting was a still life for the dining room.

Strickland learned so quickly that she went ahead and signed up for classes with a local teacher. After a couple of months, she realized that painting was going to be far more then just a hobby. Nine months later, Strickland branched out and began taking workshops from a teaching in Austin. From that point on she engrossed herself in workshops and in the task of learning her craft. “I really worked hard refining my skills as a fine artist.”

 Before long, Strickland was asked to give demonstrations, and her popularity quickly led her in to teaching. “I was on the road a lot,” she remembers, “giving maybe 18 workshops a year.” Strickland’s early work focused on Texas landscapes, her subjects the state’s famed fields of bluebonnets and other wildflowers.

Developing her impressionist technique required four to five years, a period of time in which the artist turned to the garden scenes for which she is now so well known.

Immersed in the subject matter, she spent time outdoors and visited gardens from Dallas to Balboa Park for inspiration.

Constantly stimulated by new challenges, the artist moved into palette knife paintings in 1991, a technique not readily mastered. “Palette knife paintings appeal to me,” she explains, “because knife colors are more intense, more tactile…and hold the viewer’s interest longer.” Working primarily in oils, the versatile artist occasionally makes forays into the acrylic medium for the florals. She also embarked upon a series of southwestern scenes. 

Strickland, a native of Waco, Texas, spends most of her time at home in the studio.  Often asked by her fellow artists, “Do you paint all the time?” Strickland admits to a rare day off. In fact, since her first lesson 36 years ago, the artist has painted nearly every day of her life. “I have been self-motivated from the beginning. No one has to push me to work hard.” Hard work has paid off for Loveta Strickland whose artistic gifts, combined with her love of painting, and her choice of subject matter, have resulted in a substantial and well deserved reputation as a fine artist.