Linda Powers
I studied Studio Art and Art History at the University of Minnesota, Morris (UMM) and was fortunate to work wth John Stuart Ingle, Meredith “Butch” Jack, and Lois Hodgell in their studios. They formed a solid foundation for learning how to look at the world, appreciate the light and shadows, and develop the skills for expressing an artistic view to share. During those early years, I exhibited at several venues, including a joint exhibit of photography with Larry at the UMM Gallery.
After a career in marketing as a graphic designer, art director, and product manager, the need for more creative expression grew and led me to find some inspiration. Having traveled to Hong Kong often and viewing the master paintings in museums and shops, I wanted to learn more. Plus, it is hard to resist buying those wonderful brushes in the art supply shops!
I was introduced to Bob Schmitt at Laughing Waters Studio in 2005 and began studying Chinese landscape painting and calligraphy. I learned (among many things) the importance of understanding the “treasures of study” - brush, paper, ink, and ink stone. Specifically, how to achieve the balance of water to ink and how to prepare your brush to create the desired stroke. That lesson of balance carries over to all art forms, and applies importantly to my next phase of painting.
In 2010, for a new experience, I signed up for a Scientific Illustration class at Marilyn Garber’s Minnesota School of Botanical Art. Out came the magnifying lens and 00 brushes, and a whole world opened up to examine and draw: the details of nature. Since then, I have studied with many wonderful botanical artists and am still learning. And buying more fine brushes!
For adventure and searching out subject matter to paint, Larry and I travel often to remote locations for hiking, birding, and photographing nature. Recent trips included visits to several amazing botanical gardens: Kew Gardens in London, Queen Sirikit Botanical Gardens near Chiang Mai, Thailand, Geneva Botanical Gardens in Switzerland, Jardín Botánico in Quito, Ecuador, Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens in Hobart, and the US Botanic Garden in Washington, DC.
My botanical artworks have been accepted in local, national, and international exhibits and are in collections at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California, the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden Florilegium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and several private collections.
Larry Daily
I retired from my career in Information Technology from Delta Air Lines in 2013. This has afforded me time to pursue my interests in travel, music, and photography.
My first encounter with photography was as a 9-year-old, when I won a brownie box camera at a department store in my home town.
As an undergrad at the University of Minnesota, Morris, I began studying philosophy (a really handy undergraduate major!), and I met Linda (that’s the really important thing). As a junior, looking for electives to fill out my degree, I began taking classes in photography through the Art department, under the tutelage of John Stuart Ingle. John is well-known as a water color painter, but was a wonderful teacher of photography, and provided inspiration in photography as an art form. My subjects were varied, but tended toward nature and architecture.
In addition to taking numerous photography classes and photographic independent studies, I worked at the department of University Relations, photographing football and basketball games, taking publicity photos of visiting professors, architectural and landscape photos of the campus for recruitment brochures, and whatever else the department needed.
After graduating with a BA in philosophy, and freelancing in photography for a couple of years, I realized that the reasons that I took up photography were more artistic than commercial, and looked for different career. I returned to school to study computer science, and in 1980 began a 30+ year career as a programmer, business analyst, and Information Technology manager. As I launched my new career, my photographic equipment was relegated to the closet.
Most of my career was spent in the airline industry, with Northwest Airlines, and finally Delta Air Lines. Working in the airline industry sparked a passion for travel. During my nearly 20 years there, Linda and I traveled as much as we could, to as many places as we could as time allowed. We even eloped to Bangkok in 1990!
Travel and photography mesh well together, and with the advent of digital photography, I rekindled my enthusiasm, bought a basic camera, and began documenting our travels. In recent years we focused more and more on visiting exotic locations to immerse in nature, and have taken up the hobby of birdwatching (birding, as we call it). Several improvements in camera equipment followed over several years. With the interest in travel, nature birdwatching, and Linda’s interest in botanical art, lots of our photos are of birds, plants, and landscapes; go figure.