Linda Heath Clark

Linda Heath Clark

I am an artist living in the beautiful Sierra Nevada foothills of El Dorado County, California. I am currently working in acrylics, but have done extensive work in scientific illustration, wildlife art, and animal portraits using a variety of media.

After obtaining a BA in Art with a minor in Biology, I initially did animal portraits in watercolor and pastel. My interest in wildlife and science led to positions illustrating museum exhibits and ultimately to working sixteen years as a scientific illustrator. As an illustrator, my work included detailed animal and plant illustrations for environmental and agricultural publications.

I have exhibited scientific illustrations and wildlife art in shows at various museums including the Smithsonian Institution, the Oakland Museum of Natural History, and the Coyote Point Museum. I have lectured and led workshops on the principles of scientific illustration at the Smithsonian, the University of California at Santa Cruz, and the Oakland Museum of Natural History. My wildlife art tends to be northern California species created in watercolor, pastel, and colored inks on scratchboard.

My current interests lie in testing the limits of acrylics. Switching between working with acrylic on canvas and acrylic on white scratchboard provides me a balance between the slightly looser style I enjoy on canvas and and the intricate textural details possible with acrylic on scratchboard. My "Cactus Bloom" acrylic on scratchboard piece has been included in North Light’s AcrylicWorks 2: Radical Breakthroughs.

For subjects, I’m particularly drawn to the beauty of the Sierra foothills and wine country. My work in acrylic on canvas can be seen at the Smith Gallery in Sacramento, California, and periodically at other shows in northern California. I now also enjoy exploring these subjects in scratchboard.

What drew me to scientific illustration was the level of detail and texture necessary to depict a creature accurately. I truly found beauty in the details. In my acrylics on scratchboard works, you can see I am still irresistibly drawn to texture and details even as I explore other methods of working with acrylics.

Exhibitions, Awards, and Publications