Meet Linda Roberts | Photographic artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Linda Roberts and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Linda, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Life is a risk. Any decision you make, career-wise or personal, has a risk factor to it. Should I pursue this career? Should I do this or that? As a friend of mine says “don’t should yourself”. I took a risk when I left home at 17 and moved 1000 miles away for a job. Another risk when I married a man that took me from one coast to the other – and then to Montana. Pursuing a career as a photographic artist is a huge risk – but you have to ask yourself if the risk is worth taking. My answer is yes, because even though I have had other careers, photography has been part of my life for many years. It feeds my soul.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am a landscape, nature and fine art photographer. Spending time with my camera feeds my soul, whether in a city or on country backroads. Primarily a nature photographer, I also fine creations with manmade materials to be very inspiring. I look for details in my subject as well as how light affects an object or scene. I strive to create images that tell a store or evoke an emotion. When a viewer looks at my work and sees that story or feels that emotion I feel I have succeeded as a photographer and artist.

It has been a long and circuitous route to where I am today. I have had a camera of some type in hand for most of my life and have always loved making images. My other careers started when I was 17 and started working as a Fingerprint Technician for the FBI. Other office/clerical positions followed until my husband and I started a Prosthetics and Orthotics practice in the early 1990’s. Photography wove its way through and around all these other jobs until my husband decided to retire in 2008. That is when I “ran away from home” and went to the Rocky Mountain School of Photography to “do something” with my photography. Upon graduation from RMSP I returned to Helena and was accepted at what is now the Mountain Sage Gallery. My tenure at Mountain Sage has prompted and encouraged me to continue my professional growth. I am still with Mountain Sage, but also show with the Redwood Art Group at large national contemporary art shows in Santa Fe, San Diego, and New York. I also exhibit with the Western Design Show in Great Falls, Montana during Western Art Week each March.

It has not been an easy path, nor a direct path. Lessons learned are to never give up. Believe in yourself and continue to challenge yourself as an artist. I continually challenge myself as an artist – in my photographic skills as well as other art mediums such as encaustics and pottery. I think experimenting with other mediums informs your primary work and pushes you to be better.

I think of my finished work as more than just an image – it is a mood, a feeling, a breath. I love finding that place where an image can come to life – where it can truly breathe.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Helena, Montana is not a large city, but there are fun things to do in and around the city. Summer is of course the most active time to visit here. I will get to the food and beverage pieces in a bit, but around Helena we have the local “tour train” that leaves our Historical Society and takes passengers around the historic areas of the city and the driver/guide gives a little history of the area from gold mining camps to the capital to historic mansions – I love to say it gives a fun nutshell-sized bit of history while riding an open-air “train”.

Another fun thing to do in Helena is take a boat tour on the Missouri River called the “gates of the mountain”. This boat tour follows an area that Lewis and Clark travelled and covers one of the most scenic stretches of the river in the west. From both sides of the river, limestone cliffs rise to a spectacular height. “In many places,” wrote Meriwether Lewis, “the rocks seem ready to tumble on us.” At each bend in the waterway, great stone walls seemed to block passage, only to open like gentle giant gates as the expedition drew near. In his journal, Meriwether wrote: “I shall call this place: GATES OF THE MOUNTAINS.”

And of course, we are between Glacier National Park and Yellowstone National Park. Either one of those beautiful places is a destination in itself.

In downtown Helena, we have the Walking Mall, a pedestrian mall that was developed during the Urban Renewal projects of the 1970’s. Our walking mall has sustained and is home to multiple shops and eating and drinking establishments. We have The Hawthorne, which is a bar/restaurant that opens onto the Walking Mall. A Helena favorite is The Parrott – a confectionary that dates back many years. Another personal favorite is The Big Dipper, where you can get freshly house-made ice cream with flavors such as cardamom, Mexican chocolate (a cinnamon-flavored chocolate that is to die for). At times you can get an Apple Pie ice cream – they use pie from a local bakery and mix a whole pie into the vanilla ice cream. So good.

A fun day would be a tour with the Bert and Ernie’s Pub Trolley. Lots of fun, low effort. The tour starts at the Lewis and Clark Brewery, with stops at Blackfoot Brewery, The Hawthorne Bottle Shop, the Ten Mile Brewery, and Mt. Ascension Brewery. We would probably want a designated driver.

A day exploring downtown would certainly involve stopping at The Holter Museum, Mountain Sage Gallery (of course) with lunch at The Firetower Coffee Shop and after much exploring another coffee stop at The Hub.

For dinner we would go to Benny’s Bistro where they source locally as much as possible. Or another night would find us at The Mediterranean Grill . A more casual evening would likely find us at The Brewhouse (former home of the Lewis and Clark Brewery) for burgers and beer.

I am probably not a very good tour guide, but these are things I would recommend.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
So many people. Historically, my husband John for gifting me my first SLR camera back in the 1970’s. My mentor (Vern Feuerhelm) all those years ago. My daughter Pattie for believing in me and for her continued support of me and my art. Rocky Mountain School of Photography in Missoula, Montana for refining and expanding my photographic skills. Mountain Sage Gallery in Helena, Montana for their continued support. Redwood Art Group for giving me an additional venue to exhibit my work.

Website: https://www.lindarobertsphotography,com

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