Meet Lin Teichman | Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lin Teichman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lin, what makes you happy? Why?
I am a Maker, and making things makes me happy. First, I am an artist which, by definition makes me a maker. I chose graphic design as my profession because it involved problem solving as well as making a solution to the problem. I also paint watercolors and do photography, the latter being my favorite visual expression these days. I also knit, bake, cook, and sew as other means of making. I am quite content while engaged in any of these activities.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
As a person who loves to make, the history of my artistic career goes back to my childhood where parental punishment consisted of the removal of my crayons and watercolors. When it came time to choose a career, I knew I wanted something in the arts, but also wanted to have a steady income. I found I was a good problem solver, so graphic design became a natural choice. But I always wanted to paint and photograph…my real artistic expressions. I wanted to capture some of the beauty around me that I saw and bring it to others.

When my husband and I started a family, I stopped doing graphic design for clients and picked up a watercolor brush. Deadlines and children are a difficult mix, paintings could be worked on at naptime, and later while they were in school. I found huge joy in creating still lifes and portraits of our cats (they don’t move much when they sleep). The vineyards of Napa Valley were also a huge inspiration, especially in the fall when the leaves are blazing with color. I have also ventured into some surrealistic pieces to express emotions: a cracked and rotted glass heart being the most important piece of this series. I plan on pursuing the glass heart series further in the future.

Photography was another passion since I was young. The ability to take a picture to capture a special moment or a beautiful scene has always been a huge motivator to fill my photo albums with images from trips, kids growing up, etc. I photographed my kids’ sports in high school and discovered how much I loved the challenge of getting a photo that expressed the athletes’ moments of joy or agony. And then I started taking photos as reference material for my watercolors. I realized that the photos I was making could take my artistic sense further than the paintings: it coupled my love of travel, nature and wildlife with the need to capture what I was seeing and feeling in a way that a painting could not (at least my paintings). And the fun of sharing those moments with others is almost as great as when I am out shooting.

I have been fortunate to be able to flex my creative skills to work with my current life situation at the various stages of my life. Raising kids while still designing and painting was a challenging division of energy, but it worked out. Now I am free to chase my dreams and grow as an artist. I have traveled to many places and seen and photographed many things from the Northern Lights in Alaska to the rookeries of penguins in the Falkland Islands. I am hoping to keep shooting and painting to bring what I see and feel to others.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Living in San Francisco makes it easy to find many things to do when friends visit. From all the famed landmarks and tourist area to Napa Valley and Monterey Bay, there is an endless number of things to do.

Day 1 – Fisherman’s Wharf for the clam chowder and views of the bay. In addition to all the tourist shops selling souvenirs, there is a submarine to be visited and explored (the USS Pampanito Museum and Memorial); Musée Mécanique, and a museum dedicated to old mechanical machines like fortune tellers, arm wrestler, claw game, skeeball and many other pre-video game amusements. Depending on weather, one could rent a bike and bike over the Golden Gate Bridge, or take a boat to tour Alcatraz.

Day 2 – Golden Gate Park. So many possibilities: the Conservatory of Flowers, the De Young Art Museum, walking the paths in the Arboretum and Japanese Garden. The day would end at Thanh Long, the best roasted crab and garlic noodles ever.

Day 3 – China Town, Union Square the Ferry Building. Visit the shops, sample the foods of Chinatown and visit a fortune cookie factory to see how they are made. Go down to Union Square and browse some of the major department stores, then walk to the Ferry Building on the Embarcadero for lunch at Hog Island Oyster Company. Stroll on the Embarcadero watching the seagulls and barges, maybe go to the Imaginarium Museum. Dinner could be on the water at the Waterbar Restaurant and watch the lights come up in the city.

Day 4 – Drive out to Napa Valley and go wine tasting. Favorites would be Cakebread, Schramsberg, Rombauer, and Prager. Lunch from the Oakville Grocery consumed there or at a picnic spot in a park, dinner would be the world famous Mustards.

Day 5 – Kayaking in Richardson Bay going out of Sausalito. Bring a lunch and perhaps kayak over to Angel Island, or just paddle through all the houseboats in Sausalito and say hello to all the sea lions who live in the area. Dinner would be in Sausalito on the water at Scoma’s with beautiful views of San Francisco and the bay.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My shoutout goes to my husband Sam who has unwaveringly been a rock for me and a source of encouragement throughout our lives together. He has supported all my artistic endeavors and happily eaten my culinary ones. We met while working together when I was doing graphic design for a medical publishing company. I was assigned a project to do with him, and we immediately clicked; not just emotionally, but creatively. He helps me when I have a booth at an art fair, enthusiastically supports me when I undertake a painting or embark on a photography project, and puts up with my huge stash of yarn in his office closet. Without his support, I would not have had the wings to fly as high as I have.

Website: www.linteichman.com

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Facebook: Lin Teichman Art & Design

Image Credits
Portrait: Sam Teichman