Meet the Artist: Phillips Gallery shows the work of Kalispell artist Linda Olsen

Kalispell artist Linda Olsen’s latest oil and watercolor paintings will be on display at Phillips Gallery this month in a show titled The Wandering Paintbrush. 

The public is invited to meet Olsen from 5 to 7 p.m. Sept. 4 with an artist's talk scheduled for 5:30 p.m. The gallery is located at the Kalispell Center Mall. 

The Wandering Paintbrush exhibit captures the daily inspirations of Olsen’s travels. As a plein air painter, she carries her art supplies wherever she goes in case inspiration strikes. One of these moments came during a trip to Mexico where the intricate detail and interplay of color and light of stacked pottery caught her eye. The resulting watercolor is one of the show’s signature pieces. 

“There is nothing like being out in nature trying to get a representation on the paper or canvas despite what Mother Nature might have in mind. I can see the colors and details so much better. It doesn’t take long for me to be in the zone, oblivious to everything else around me,” Olsen said. 

She described how she chooses whether to use watercolor or oil paint and what the techniques the mediums allow her to accomplish. 

“Painting with watercolor paint gives me the opportunity to sketch quickly, to add layers and enjoy the spontaneity of the medium. Painting with oil paint in contrast, can be layered and built up from very thin to thick. I especially like the texture I can achieve with the paintbrush, palette knife and oil paint. It is such a special thing to be able to express myself through art,” she said. 

Olsen received an art degree in German from Rocky Mountain College in Billings. After graduating, she moved to Columbia Falls and began teaching art and German at Columbia Falls High School. After retiring from teaching and running family businesses, she returned to her passion for painting and took classes taught by artists Karen Leigh and Susan Arthur at Flathead Valley Community College. She continued her painting studies with Mark Ogle.  

Olsen is a Signature Member of the Montana Watercolor Society. She is also a member of Plein Air Painters of the Flathead and Glacier Art Museum.