Spiraling River Rocks

A year can't go by without my painting at least a couple of new river rock paintings, so I've added these spiral paintings to the ever changing river rock series.



 

What I'm Working On

I do my best pondering when I'm painting and so it began as I plotted out work for 2016 shows. I've been pretty obsessed with poppies all winter and have tried a number of approaches before adding lines and dots on these two. Then I went all "Peter Maxx" with the other painting. From these pieces I've gotten clearer on what I want to accomplish this year.

What are you working on?

Nursery Art

This winter I've been working on paintings in a new direction - Nursery Art. I'm inspired by being a Nana for sure; but let's face it, I've always loved everything to do with nurseries and children. So in addition to the paintings I'm more known for, I'm branching out to include nursery art.

This idea developed while I was painting my birch series in 2014. Sky Through Birches is an example. I just love trees, especially in the abstract. Sometimes I like collaging the tree trunks in and at other times creating patterns directly on the canvas, like I've done here.

These two paintings are works in progress. After consulting with some moms and moms-to-be, I'm thinking of adding an animal peaking out from behind the trees. Thoughts?

Opening reception at Good Purpose Gallery

We had such a fun evening during the opening reception of the Holiday Glow Art Show at the Good Purpose Gallery in Lee, Massachusetts last Friday night. It's an honor to be included in this show and I'm grateful to the staff for such a successful evening. Here are a few photos from the event.

 

 

 

 

The show will run through January 12, 2016. I have 24 original paintings exhibited and as always, you may commission a painting for that special someone in your life if you prefer.  I've also included some smaller items like mini journals with original ACEO paintings, as well as art cards for holiday gift giving.

 

Happy Holidays!

xoxo, Susan

Holiday Glow Art Show

Yesterday I dropped off 24 paintings and today the creative folks at the Good Purpose Gallery will be hanging the show and making the magic happen. It's a gorgeous space and I'm looking forward to the opening reception on Friday, November 27th. Live music, food and beverages will add to the festive atmosphere.

Oh, and by the way - that's my painting, Sky Through Birches, on the gallery's poster. It was quite a surprise to see that - how lovely!

Settling in and Good Purpose

I'm happy to report that my new live/work space in Albany (otherwise known as my home) is working out perfectly. Now that we're basically settled in, I'm preparing for a show at the Good Purpose Gallery in Lee, Massachusetts. I'm excited about this opportunity and love the mission of the Good Purpose Gallery, which works very closely with the College Internship Program (CIP). The motto of the CIP is:

 

 “You were made for good purpose and are inherently valuable”.

  and the mission of the Gallery is:
 

"The Gallery mission is to help integrate young individuals on Autism Spectrum and with other Learning Differences into community, enrich their lives through arts and creativity, and provide the opportunity for professional artists to share their skills and passion with exhibits, workshops and lectures."  ~ from the Good Purpose Gallery website. 

So as someone who loves art and how it impacts our communities for the better, I'm really thrilled to be involved in this exhibit. I'm readying somewhere between 20-30 works. A portion of the proceeds will directly benefit CIP Performing and Visual Arts development efforts.

 

I may be adding these two new river rock paintings I've just finished. I have a couple of mixed media pieces in the works, as well.

It's nice to be back in the saddle again....and for such a good purpose. 

 

Catching Up

Yes, it's been a while dear Readers. 2015 has been a year of great changes already with more to follow. In April we listed our house in Pittsfield thinking we might get an offer by autumn but weren't in a particular hurry to move really.

However, thanks to our amazing realtor, we had multiple offers immediately and sold the house in four days. Oh.....but that meant we needed to find another home pronto. We had been looking for a while so had a pretty good idea of the housing market here in Albany, NY but finding a house quickly isn't easy or recommended. Two weeks later we put an offer on a house after looking at a bunch of them. We moved to a Marriott Residence Inn for a month in between houses which was interesting but I'd not want to do it much longer than that.

Now we are settling into our new home, a mid-century house in our ideal location with a large bright room that will make a wonderful art studio once the boxes are removed. Our house is a fixer-upper needing system upgrading, the things you'd expect in a house built in 1953 so I'm acting as general contractor and over-seeing all that kind of thing.


In the meantime at my current studio at NUarts, 311 North Street, Pittsfield - I am participating in open studios this Friday, August 7th during the First Fridays Artswalk from 5:00-8:00PM. First Fridays Artswalk is always a fun event and the weather is supposed to be perfect for a night out on the town.

I will be going back and forth between my studio and a group show of women artists in Gallery W at The Whitney Center for the Arts. I'm so happy to have been included in this group of talented local artists. There's an after party starting at 8:00PM at The Whitney, so do stop by for art, food, drink and great conversation.


Photo courtesy of the Whitney Center for the Arts

Winter's Gift

It has been a long winter in New England and beyond. The snow outside my door is still waist deep and the temperature far below freezing. I didn't succeed in embracing the great outdoors this winter even though my snow shoes were daring me to hit the trails. I have to say I much prefer temperatures above zero! The month of February is now coming to an end and I find myself thinking about the warmer days ahead, longer hours of sunlight and taking long walks on beautiful mountain paths.

What I did instead this winter, was spend time reading about art and planning my next series of paintings. There's a wonderful book I've just finished reading, The Mission of Art by Alex Grey. If you haven't read it, I hope you'll consider doing so. It has reaffirmed art-making as part of my spiritual practice. Sometimes I need the quiet space between projects which allows me to go a little deeper and listen more carefully to the messages within, knowing that when I emerge it will be with a stronger vision and voice. That was the gift of this winter.

 And really, spring can't be all that far off; can it?

Autumn Alchemy at NUarts

Autumn Alchemy closed at the end of September at the Whitney Center for the Arts after a wonderful month's visit. I have just hung the show at NUarts Gallery + Studios for the month of October for tonight's First Fridays Artswalk from 5-8 PM.

Below is a page from this month's Berkshire Magazine, with my painting Sky Through Birches accompanied by Jerry Tuckman's haiku. It has been a really wonderful experience working with Jerry on this exhibit. It was so serendipitous and evolved quite magically. I am forever grateful that Jerry and his wife, Jan, walked into my studio during a First Fridays Artswalk in June.

NUarts Gallery + Studios is where my studio space is housed. We currently hold open studios during the Artswalks each month. And I am always happy to welcome folks to my studio by appointment.

Opening Reception Musings

I am excited about tonight's art opening, am happy with all the new work I've created and for my collaboration with poet, Jerry Tuckman. It's been quite a journey and I've learned so much along the way. If I was to pick a favorite piece (considering that changes on a daily basis), I would pick At the Core.

Autumn Alchemy is about change, the cycle of life represented in spirals, the wonders of nature, and abstract expressions honoring all the season brings. 

That's a line from my press release that meant one thing when I wrote it and something deeper now - an alchemy of its own.

This has been a challenging week as my friend, Yvonne, died on Sunday. I am feeling sad for everyone's loss because Yvonne was bigger than life, with a quick smile and sharp wit. I will miss her a lot. What came on the heals of that though, is really heart warming. Yesterday four good friends shared lunch, stories and emotions about the fifth person, now missing. The love for each other and our missing friend was palpable. I feel so blessed to have these ladies in my life.

Life changes in an instant. The cycles continue with or without us present to witness them. There is something that I can't fully articulate in all this, but I can paint what it means to me.