About

Linda Carruth is an experienced illustrator who has been in business for a number of years. Her illustration work is clean and detailed, while her photo illustration work is conceptual, layered, colorful, and textured. Linda’s photo compositions allow the viewer to think and imagine beyond the image. She gains inspiration from wildlife, romantic themes, vintage retro objects and environmental issues. Her work can be seen in personal art collections, on book covers and merchandise, and in editorial magazines.

cylindrical bearing drawing

Early on, Linda acquired her technical illustration and retouching skills in an apprenticeship program under William F. Litschert Art, Inc., who also taught at Cooper School of Art. She later earned an Applied Technical Studies (ATS) degree in Technical Illustration Media from Cuyahoga Community College.

During a period of high demand and rapid technological changes, instructors were sorely needed when illustrators, graphic designers, typesetters, and printers scrambled to change over to digital workflows. Linda took it upon herself to become knowledgeable about creating and working with digital media, prepress, and preparing clean files for output on commercial printing presses, mainly to aid in her own graphic design work. The right people noticed, and in addition to working in the industry, Linda taught as an adjunct at two local colleges for twenty years. Subject matter included graphic design, illustration, typography, layout, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator (and many more software programs), along with HTML, CSS, and print production for designers.

Linda is the fourth and sole owner of the L W Wallace Company (est. 1949), providing illustration, retouching, graphic design, and web services. She did freelance work for the Wallace Company for a number of years, entailing technical illustration and business publications, eventually moving on to Art Director, and eventually taking over in 2003 after the previous owner retired. Her previous company, Carruth Illustrative Services, merged with the Wallace Company in 2005. The industry has changed over the years, requiring stages of reinvention and additional education from time to time, but professional, quality work has remained at the forefront of Linda’s work ethic.

In her leisure time, Linda enjoys riding her motorcycle, roller coasters, reading, drawing and watercolor painting, and floating in the pool gazing at the sky. Wind-in-her-face activities and art pretty much cover it in the leisure department. Her other interests are creative writing and amateur photography, both of which tend to bridge the gap between personal and professional creative endeavors.