Art LovesHer: [visual artist/writer]: Linda Kleinbub

Native New Yorker, Linda Kleinbub, is a published author in her own right. After an introduction at The Delancey through mutual friends, I came to discover that like most New Yorkers, Linda has been keeping a secret. On top of being a superb writer, she is also  visual artist! After premiering some of her art at February’s Art Salon, we caught up with this multi-talented woman to talk art & life. Check it out below.

1. When did you first begin doing what you do?  I have always had a creative streak in me.  One of my earliest artistic achievements was when I won a tea set for a coloring contest in kindergarten.  In grammar school when I was given a creative writing assignment I would often write very elaborate stories, sometimes staying up late into the night to finish them.  I started keeping a journal when I was 12, it started as a diary but as I got older it turned into poetry.
2. When did you become serious about it, and pursue it as a life path? Would you consider what you do your life path?  I feel that my life has many paths.  When I was an undergrad, studying computer science, I took poetry and art classes for fun, photography, sculpture, sketching, ceramics, watercolor and oil painting.  While I have always been interested in art and writing, I have always wanted to be a mother.  I had my two sons when I was quite young and there were times when I had to put my desires on hold to raise them.  Since they have grown and became independent I have time to pursue my writing and art with more passion.
3. Where does your name come from? I don’t use a stage name, but I started to sign my paintings LWK which stands for my legal name, Linda Welk Kleinbub, but when I publish my writing I just use Linda Kleinbub, for its simplicity. 
4. Why do you create? Creating is an emotional outlet for me.  Something I do to keep me sane.  Some of my favorite pieces come out of very emotional experiences.
5.  What inspires you? Nature, especially trees, the colors of the changing seasons, the ocean, human interaction, riding the subway, the rhythm of city life, music, photographs and artwork on Instagram
6. Who are some of your major influences? My father is one of my biggest influences, he was a painter and a musician.  When I was young I would watch him as he created.  He would explain color mixing, and different painting techniques.  Other influences/role models include Louise Glück, T. S. Eliot, A.R. Ammons, Jim Carroll, Star Black, Keith Haring, Peter Max, and Vincent Van Gogh.
7. What’s one of the most rewarding parts of your work? What is one of the hardest?  When the work comes easy, the words flow or my vision emerges in a painting.  When I read at open mics, or show my work, and strangers react positively to it.  The hardest would be self-criticism; I can get hard on myself, start asking myself too many questions, let doubt ruin the organic process.
8. How do you get through blocks in your creativity? Painting and photography come fairly easy to me.  When I get writer’s block sometimes I read, or I write centos.  A cento is a poetic form in which poems are created by combining lines for a variety of text.  Writing centos is enjoyable, sometimes I feel like it’s cheating, but I love to combine the lines of many different poems and create something new and meaningful to me.
9. What advice would you give a nineteen year old creative who wants to make their thing into their whole life? You have nothing to lose, so go for it. Nothing will happen if you don’t try!
10. What is feminism to you? Supporting and encouraging woman to be the best and strongest that they can be.  Encouraging women to be fearless, to believe in themselves, that they can accomplish anything if they work hard and never give up.
11. What do you have coming up in the next couple months? Besides focusing on my work, I am the co-founder of Pen Pal Poets.  We organize poetry readings and open mics, I have requested to be a part of this summer’s Poetry Festival on Governor’s Island. We are planning a reading/ open mic for the spring.