Hello, Visitor!
My husband and I have moved to Burlington, Vermont-- back to the place where I grew up.
Even the quickest glance at my website reveals that I draw my inspiration from the plants, birds, and landscapes around me. I'm looking forward to painting Lake Champlain, the Green Mountains, and the Adirondacks.
Although my paintings and drawings are based on careful observation that is faithful to the natural world, they spring from an internal vision of what is luminously beautiful.
I spend a lot of time outdoors sketching and painting--that's the best part of my working life-- but when I can, the outside comes into my studio for study; plants, mostly, although there's always the occasional bird. I never tire of the endless forms and colors of what I find in the woods and fields around our house.
Because of my instinct to carefully observe nature, my life as an artist has often been intertwined with exhibitions and institutions where there is an intersection between fine art and natural history illustration.
The spring of 2010 marked the fourth time I was selected to participate in Focus on Nature, a biennial exhibit at the New York State Museum in Albany, NY, that features natural history illustrators from around the world.
I was one of ten artists to illustrate the 2008 Breeding Birds of New York Atlas, and have contributed two pieces to a Guild of Natural Science Illustrators exhibit entitled: "The Sweet-voiced Bird has Flown: Portraits of Common Birds in Decline"
I frequently contribute art to organizations that aim to conserve land, raise awareness of environmental issues, or, in the case of the American Chestnut Foundation, the aim of restoring a species.
As a writer, I researched and wrote the interpretive captions for the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology's collection of original bird art that can be seen at the Visitor Center.
A few honors that are meaningful to me:
- selected to paint the 2011 painting for the Garth Newel Music Center
- an oil painting I did of a mature American Chestnut tree was used as a poster to celebrate the American Chestnut Foundation's 25th Anniversary
- Garnet Award, Adirondack Exhibition of American Watercolors, Old Forge, NY
- First Prize in Oil Painting, State of the Art Gallery in Ithaca, NY
- Cover Artist, Focus on Nature catalogue (back cover) 2006
- Purchase Award and Poster Artist for Focus on Nature exhibit at New York State Museum 2008
- Ithaca Festival Artist, 2001
The highest honor I can receive, however, is to hear that my paintings bring pleasure to their viewers, and that they convey
My training in art has been on my own, seeking out workshops and wisdom from living painters I admire, and learning all I can from studying the works of those who are gone. To be part of a living tradition of fine art that reaches deeply into history is one of the great satisfactions of being a painter.
Academically, I studied everything except art; my undergraduate degree is from Dartmouth College and my master's in baro
My paintings are in the permanent collections of the New York State Museum, the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, and in private collections across the country. I exhibit widely in a variety of venues and galleries, and I enjoy the collaborative nature of commissioned work.
Please feel free to be in touch. I'd love to hear from you. Thanks for visiting!
Susan