Interview with
Linda Adelstein Watson
Portrait Artist
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Linda Adelstein Watson was born and raised in New York and currently resides on Long Island. She attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City. After raising a family and continuing to battle a rare bone disease, Linda turned to her art as a way to heal herself and to inspire others.
She focuses almost exclusively on creating portraits and works of the human figure both drawn and painted. Her attention to detail, as well as her ability to connect with her subjects, creates visually stunning works that affect the viewer on a very emotional level. Linda employs some unusual media choices, such as painting on reclaimed materials (e.g. discarded wood) and vintage lace stretched over canvas to achieve interesting effects. Her 2013 series of female faces painted on antique handkerchiefs is a good example of this concept. Linda's work has appeared in numerous group and solo exhibitions. In 2013, her solo show, titled “Portraits,” included close to 50 pencil portraits of her friends and family. Two years later, she was one of the featured artists at Gallery Red in Las Vegas. She created the cover artwork for the blues album, "Please Save Your Love For Me," released in 2015 by award-winning performer Ebony Jo-Ann. |
Gladys Knight
Colored Pencil on Paper © Linda Adelstein Watson |
The following notables are proud owners of Linda’s portraits:
Nick Ashford (of Ashford & Simpson - gifted to Ms. Valerie Simpson), Marc Broussard, Taylor Dayne, James Jamerson Jr, Danny Kean, Gladys Knight, David Letterman, Jeffrey Osborne, Patrice Rushen, Paul Schaeffer, Ann & Nancy Wilson (Heart). |
Nick Ashford
Pencil on Paper © Linda Adelstein Watson |
Myrna Haskell, managing editor, spoke with Linda about her illness and how art has helped her to stay positive and to inspire others to create art to help them heal.
You’ve said that art has helped you through your struggle with a rare bone disease. Could you explain that more? How has art helped you to heal and in what way?
I have an undiagnosed bone condition. I’ve been to so many centers. My blood and bone samples have been sent all over the world. My bones are thickening, and I’ve had several brain surgeries to keep the spinal fluid flowing. There is no name for my condition, but I do know that one gene is abnormal (a genetic anomaly) and that there may be a second abnormal gene. I was part of an NIH undiagnosed disease program, but the funding for that ran out, so I just pray that my condition will remain calm. It’s an awful feeling: I am sick and no one can help me.
You’ve said that art has helped you through your struggle with a rare bone disease. Could you explain that more? How has art helped you to heal and in what way?
I have an undiagnosed bone condition. I’ve been to so many centers. My blood and bone samples have been sent all over the world. My bones are thickening, and I’ve had several brain surgeries to keep the spinal fluid flowing. There is no name for my condition, but I do know that one gene is abnormal (a genetic anomaly) and that there may be a second abnormal gene. I was part of an NIH undiagnosed disease program, but the funding for that ran out, so I just pray that my condition will remain calm. It’s an awful feeling: I am sick and no one can help me.
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I do have my art, and I can tell you a bit about how that evolved. My high school art teacher changed my life. I did some of my best work in her class. One project was to create an album cover. I was so inspired by that project and had hoped that one day I could actually do one. So, for me, creating Ebony Jo-Ann’s cover to her blues album Save Your Love for Me was truly amazing.
However, I hadn’t always been focused on my art. I had put it on the back burner for a long time. I worked in medical transportation billing for thirty-five years. I hadn’t identified myself as an artist back then because my art was on the sidelines. When I was laid off from my job, it became one of those blessings in disguise because, for the first time, it allowed me to focus on my art. I was already sick, and I thought, ‘What are you going to do now?’ I needed a way to cope. I cannot always work full-time due to my illness, but I now consider myself a professional artist. |
Album Cover for Ebony Jo-Ann
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Art soothes me when I’m feeling really sick. It’s what I do when I can’t sleep. Art helps me to focus my energy on the positive and to accept who I am. It has kept me going and has encouraged me to use this gift to help other people as well.
Have there been any exhibitions of your work that you feel particularly expressed your feelings about how art helps to heal?
All of it, really. I had to get over the fear of showing my work at first. Once I did, I started showing all over the place.
I suppose there is one special exhibition, though. In 2013, I exhibited at a local library. This exhibition contained portraits of all the people in my life whom I respected in some way. I wanted these people to be able to come and see it. Some of the portraits were of folks who had already passed, and it brought great comfort to their loved ones. The family of a boy I knew years before, who had died young, had no idea I had drawn a portrait of him. They were blown away and extremely touched. It was a wonderful experience. I even got letters from some of those who attended. It brought people together – strangers and friends – that’s what art does for people.
Have there been any exhibitions of your work that you feel particularly expressed your feelings about how art helps to heal?
All of it, really. I had to get over the fear of showing my work at first. Once I did, I started showing all over the place.
I suppose there is one special exhibition, though. In 2013, I exhibited at a local library. This exhibition contained portraits of all the people in my life whom I respected in some way. I wanted these people to be able to come and see it. Some of the portraits were of folks who had already passed, and it brought great comfort to their loved ones. The family of a boy I knew years before, who had died young, had no idea I had drawn a portrait of him. They were blown away and extremely touched. It was a wonderful experience. I even got letters from some of those who attended. It brought people together – strangers and friends – that’s what art does for people.
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Do you work with the community to inspire or help others?
I participated in an extremely successful fundraiser for the Stony Brook University Cancer Center. We created hand-made bras. Celebrities donated as well. The bras were auctioned off to raise money for the center. I made a dream catcher bra that had feathers hanging off of it.* It kind of looked like a bikini top. I found that this was a beautiful way to marry what I do with helping people. *Linda's "Dream Catcher" bra was awarded "Most Inspirational." |
Photo Credit: Stony Brook Newsroom, Stony Brook University
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I belong to the North Shore Art Guild. It’s a gallery space where we swap shows. Thirty percent of the funds raised at our shows goes to the Stony Brooke Children’s Hospital (part of the Stony Brook University Cancer Center). It’s a great way to share our gift.
I also teach painting classes to a traumatic brain injury group. Common Ground Alliance* was left without an art therapist. I’m not a therapist, but I use art as therapy, and I’ve also had seven brain surgeries, so I can relate to what these people were going through. I began volunteering for this organization. These students are as much of a blessing to me as I am to them. To watch a group of people with such a large range of brain injury come together to do art is something to cherish. We laugh together…sometimes there’s frustration. At the end of each class, they’re all asking when the next one is scheduled.
You don’t have to be an expert. The sheer joy of using materials to create comes back to people. Remember when you were a kid, and you’d grab the Playdough and just go to town? There were no rules. It was exciting. It brought joy. Art makes you feel so good inside. That’s the feeling I want to bring to others.
*Common Ground Alliance is a not-for-profit membership organization for persons with brain injury and their families. The organization provides social, recreational, intellectual and creative opportunities to support long-term wellness and quality of life.
We are encouraging our readers to use #WheresYourSanctuary to share their thoughts and inspiration with our community on social media. Where do you find your joy, peace, strength and fulfillment? In a place, a person, a hobby, a quiet moment alone? What feeds your soul and fuels your fire?
When I am doing what I love and with whom I love. That almost always includes some form of art, whether it be drawing or painting, music or dance, comedy or radio; those things make me feel alive and valuable and happy in a way that I don’t find otherwise. Art isn’t just something I do; it’s who I am, and how I share and interact with others.
I also teach painting classes to a traumatic brain injury group. Common Ground Alliance* was left without an art therapist. I’m not a therapist, but I use art as therapy, and I’ve also had seven brain surgeries, so I can relate to what these people were going through. I began volunteering for this organization. These students are as much of a blessing to me as I am to them. To watch a group of people with such a large range of brain injury come together to do art is something to cherish. We laugh together…sometimes there’s frustration. At the end of each class, they’re all asking when the next one is scheduled.
You don’t have to be an expert. The sheer joy of using materials to create comes back to people. Remember when you were a kid, and you’d grab the Playdough and just go to town? There were no rules. It was exciting. It brought joy. Art makes you feel so good inside. That’s the feeling I want to bring to others.
*Common Ground Alliance is a not-for-profit membership organization for persons with brain injury and their families. The organization provides social, recreational, intellectual and creative opportunities to support long-term wellness and quality of life.
We are encouraging our readers to use #WheresYourSanctuary to share their thoughts and inspiration with our community on social media. Where do you find your joy, peace, strength and fulfillment? In a place, a person, a hobby, a quiet moment alone? What feeds your soul and fuels your fire?
When I am doing what I love and with whom I love. That almost always includes some form of art, whether it be drawing or painting, music or dance, comedy or radio; those things make me feel alive and valuable and happy in a way that I don’t find otherwise. Art isn’t just something I do; it’s who I am, and how I share and interact with others.
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