Meet Linda

I’m so glad you’re visiting! I’ve been creative my entire life . . . in fact, I just may be the poster child for someone who had no choice about art versus a “normal” life . . . and now, being able to share my efforts with others in this worldwide way, is very exciting. 

Creativity, in any and all forms, is the backbone of my existence. My husband and I had a joke between us when we were “young marrieds”. When he came home from work, if I looked tense or frazzled, he lost all hope of having his wife (me!) make dinner for our family. He knew instantly that I hadn’t gotten my creative “fix” during the day and I was off to my studio and he was off . . .  to order pizza! He got it . . . both the pizza and the concept. My head felt like pins and needles and wouldn’t settle down until I did something . . . anything (!) . . . creative each day.

Do you want to know how someone so singularly predestined grows from a child who colors with crayons to the artist you’re meeting today? Here’s how: 

FIRST ADULT STOP: Four hour per day Major Art Program at Washington Irving HS in NY. That extraordinary program contributed to two rare honors: being selected to demonstrate pen and ink portraiture on TV and winning First Prize in calligraphy in a national Lever Brothers contest for high school students.

NEXT STOP: Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), also in NY, where I learned every single body part and how they all functioned and affected the look of the fabrics draped over them. That’s why my paintings are populated with believable people in believable clothes. FIT also prepared me to take a quantum leap forward in my art career, as you’ll read next.      

UNBELIEVABLE NEXT STOP – FIRST JOB: Fashion illustrator for . . . dah dahhhh . . . Bergdorf Goodman, America’s most famous, upscale department store. Highlight: Saw Jackie Kennedy try on hundreds of little pill box hats by the brilliant designer Halston . . . the very same pill box hats that I had drawn the week before! Yes, that was BIG.

NEXT TO LAST STOP: Phoenix, AZ., a great place to raise my daughters . . . an equally great place to open a small, successful advertising agency. 25-years being creative for 8-hours per day and getting paid for it. Yes, definitely Paradise Found! I also worked hard to help the movement to transform Phoenix from cow town to cultured, urbane, art-loving city.

THE SURPRISING STOP – THE PRESENT: PebbleCreek, Goodyear AZ. This vibrant, art-and-activity-filled community where my hubby and I now live is literally a launch pad for all of the arts. I continually take and teach art classes. I paint constantly and enjoy every triumph, every brushstroke, every attempt at new techniques, every utterly frustrating minute – all part of the painting process. So far, these efforts have resulted in coveted “Juried Artist” status from Arizona Art Alliance in only four years; receiving multiple portrait and landscape commissions; attaining Artist of the Month status four times; entering and being accepted for exhibitions in many juried municipal venues, as well as in galleries and shows; and being honored with the presidency of Art League West, one of the most prestigious art associations in Phoenix’s west valley.

That’s a brief overview of the ongoing growth of this artist. I hope you will enjoy my art as much as I’ve enjoyed creating it. LSL