The Flight
Linda Luster was a frequent contributor to the Chronicle in the early 1980s while living in North Carolina. After taking 16 years off from art to train dressage horses professionally in Maryland, Luster returned to her artwork full time. She works out of her studio on her farm in Rocky Ridge, Md., where she still keeps her hands in riding and training a few horses.

Her paintings can be seen at selected horse shows and in a few tack shops and local galleries. The Flight is an oil on canvas of grand prix show jumper Hidden Creek’s Wapino with rider Margie Engle.

“It wasn’t a commissioned piece, but I really love that horse,” said Luster. “I intentionally painted Margie to be fairly unrecognizable so it’s really about the horse.”

Luster has studied art since third grade in Hampton, Va., where she worked with Jack Clifton in an open studio every Saturday morning until graduating from high school. She holds a bachelor’s degree in painting and printmaking from the University of North Carolina in Greensboro. She also holds a degree in commercial photography.