Linda Kukuk, a life-time resident of the Oklahoma City area, is a self-taught artist.  Since the early 1960’s she has participated in numerous art shows, specializing in scratch board art.  She and her husband have traveled extensively throughout Africa, Europe, Russia, and the South Pacific, which has given her a myriad of interesting subjects to paint and draw. 

Her retirement as Chief of the Commander’s Protocol Office at Tinker AFB in March 2002, has given her more time to pursue her artistic endeavors.   Since then, she has added watercolor and has discovered this can also be combined with her scratchboard art. She still continues with scratchwork, but is using clayboard, which allows her to add watercolor to this traditionally “black and white” medium.   She also does watercolor paintings on textured clayboard.  Linda enjoys painting a very wide variety of subjects and considers anything to be fair game for her paper and clayboard.  As a break from the very detailed, non-forgiving medium of scratchwork, Linda enjoys relaxing by creating very colorful watercolor abstracts on smooth clayboard which she seals with a pour on high gloss polymer-resin glaze.

Being a native Oklahoman of rich Choctaw & Cherokee ancestry, and having grown up in rural Oklahoma, she especially enjoys painting Native American themes.   Her Great Grandfather, Henry Pleasant Ward, was a member of the Choctaw Nation Legislature and became Judge of Atoka County. His wife, Mary, was a citizen of the Cherokee Nation.  The Ward family consisted of several prosperous, well respected, leaders just previous and following Oklahoma Statehood. They are well represented in the historical book by H.F. O’Beirne, “Leaders & Leading Men of the Indian Territory, published in 1891.

Linda is a Signature member of ISSA (International Society of Scratchboard Artists).   Two of her scratchworks were selected for the ISSA International Show in Vancouver BC, Canada in 2013. One of her scratchworks was selected for the ISSA International Show in Tucson in 2016, two were selected for the Show in Adelaide, Australia in 2017 and one for the Show in Berea, KY 2019.  She has won numerous awards and purchase awards for her paintings and scratchworks throughout her career.  Linda’s work has been in the Festival of Arts in Oklahoma City, as well as the OCCC Arts Festival Oklahoma, Downtown Edmond Art Festivals, Red Earth Art Shows, Cherokee Art Market in Tulsa and Oklahoma Art Guild National Shows – all juried shows.  

She is represented by The Howell Gallery in Nichols Hills and Red Earth Gallery in Oklahoma City. Many of her scratchworks and paintings are on display in public facilities, such as the Oklahoma Metropolitan Library, NBC Bank, Red Earth Gallery permanent collection, Dean A. McGee Eye Institute, Oklahoma Community Foundation, Choctaw Nation Clinic, Clinic Administrative Offices, Talihina, OK Clinic, Choctaw Nation Hotels and Casinos, the Choctaw Nation Headquarters Building, and the OKANA Resort in Oklahoma City.

Linda illustrated a children’s book for Disney publishing, “Wilma’s Way Home” The Life of Chief Wilma Mankiller’s, which was released in February 2019.

Linda was named “Honored One – 2022 – by the Red Earth Festival of the Arts.

Linda is sought after, by various art associations and clubs throughout the country, to demonstrate her scratchboard techniques and watercolor on textured clayboard.  She loves the opportunity to show other artists what she has learned through the years.  Since the release of her book, she had been called upon to be a member of many panels at various book festivals throughout the United States.  Linda enjoys telling elementary school students about her experiences illustrating “Wilma’s Way Home” and she especially enjoys speaking to art classes about the process. 

“International Artist” magazine selected one of Linda’s paintings to be featured in one of their books.  The title of the book is “How Did You Paint That? 100 Ways to Paint Still Life’s and Florals Vol. II.” “International Artist” featured Linda and one of her scratchworks in their October/November 2014 issue.  She was also featured in “International Artist Magazine” Master Painters of the World, USA in the June-July 2017 issue. Linda was featured the Luxiere Magazine, Edition 50, which was released in August 2024.

In addition to art, Linda enjoys photography, travel, gardening, cooking, and holds an Extra Class Amateur Radio Operator’s license.  Believing God has given her a wonderful gift, she also enjoys sharing her artistic talent to support numerous charitable events each year.