The organizers and jury of the second Heart of the West Art Show and Auction at the Coeur d’Alene Resort in Idaho have selected the 2016 North Star Award Winner: Linda St. Clair. The North Star Award was established in 2011 and recognizes an artist who has influenced their peers with a willingness to explore new realms of creativity and expression. In mentoring and inspiring other artists through their unparalleled vision, the artist has provided guidance, as the “North Star” guides fellow travelers. Past recipients include lauded painters Charles Fritz, Donna Howell-Sickles and Tom Gilleon.

St. Clair will travel from her home in Santa Fe to exhibit alongside 60+ premier Western artists in Coeur d’Alene, ID Sept. 1-4, 2016 and will lead an Art Chat discussion about her work Saturday, Sept. 3 from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Additional events include Quick Finish artist demonstrations on Friday Sept. 2 from 5 – 7 p.m. and Saturday 2 – 3:30 p.m. and a live art auction with over 100 lots at 4 p.m.

St. Clair has made a massive mark in the art world with loose, expressive paintings of animals, whether it is a rooster in the barnyard or megafauna on the African Serengeti. Themes of parenthood and affection often appear in her animal portraits, showing the individual personalities and bonds between her subjects. She is a quick, decisive painter with the confidence that comes from a lifetime of practice. She will be demonstrating her skill in Saturday’s Quick Finish.

As she writes on her website, “My goal is offer the viewer a rare, if not surprising, glimpse into an animal’s individuality, its endearing qualities and often complex internal state. I want my work to tell a story, to make us feel a connection with the subjects, to remind us all that upon closer inspection, animal emotions and relationships are not unlike our own.”