Linda Cherry 

I've always been creative but for some reason I've wanted to learn watercolor for many years. I even bought a big book on how to do it along with watercolor paper, probably 15 years ago. I never even cracked the book open!

However, when I got sick in 2014 and had to move to my sister's in North Carolina for treatment my watercolor book and paper were some of the carload of belongings I brought with me..

After my treatments were over, and I was still quite ill, somehow I searched YouTube for watercolor and my world was opened up!

I found great artists teaching online for free. I purchased a few online watercolor classes from Craftsy and began painting.

I also found a watercolor teacher teaching at the nearby Senior Center in Wake Forest, NC. It made me feel alive again to go to these classes.

I painted there until August of 2017 when I moved back to Peoria in order to work. That Fall I took a watercolor class at ICC taught by dear Kathy Sherman. She told me about Humana's watercolor group and the IAL Watermedia Group which I started attending with check in hand the next week!!! Then I joined the Plein Air Group and later joined the Urban Sketching Group which is with ink and watercolor.

I am so very happy to have found IAL. I'm still Amateur status but I don't care, I just love it! ...IAL and the people enrich my life!

I will be sharing my art on Instagram here.