Former forensic science assistant finds creative outlet in oil painting

Linda Jacobus was a busy, working mom to four boys. Working in the forensic science field, she began to look for a creative outlet from the demands of day-to-day life.

She tried a pottery class, but that wasn’t it. Jacobus was looking for a way to combine her love of research and a challenge.

She stumbled into painting in 1992, and got serious with oils in 1995.

“Each new painting is a challenge,” the Puyallup resident said. “I never took a class in painting, but I realized you can’t teach creativity. You can teach technique, but not creativity.”

In 2002, Jacobus began painting classical realism pieces full time.

“I never dreamt I would be an artist,” she said. “I’ve realized that we are all just passing through life, but it’s really about what you do with it.”

Jacobus says she is inspired most by the way the sun hits an object in nature. She paints anything from people to flowers to books and more.

“I’m drawn in by the lights and the shadows,” she said.

Each of Jacobus’s paintings takes the artist anywhere from three days to a week, depending on the size.

So what’s the secret to the perfect classical realism painting?

Jacobus says she’s just figuring everything out as she goes along.

“I can feel each brush stroke as I’m doing it,” she said. “The brush stroke is really what matters.”

For the last five years, Jacobus has entered her paintings into the Washington State Fair Fine Arts Show. This year, she won first place in the oils category for her piece “Pansies Mixed Color.”

“I enter my art into the fair to make people happy,” she said. “It allows people to really enjoy the art.”

Jacobus will demo her art on Friday (Sept. 25) from 5 to 6:30 p.m., and again from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on the second floor of the pavilion at the Washington State Fair.

For more information on Jacobus’s paintings, visit www.lindasart.com or www.fineartamerica.com/profiles/linda-jacobus.html.

This story was originally published September 24, 2015 at 11:27 AM with the headline "Former forensic science assistant finds creative outlet in oil painting."