Sugar Bowl 2

"Sugar Bowl 2"

6" x 7" oil on panel

I don't know why I love painting shiny objects. 

Perhaps it is the challenge of creating the illusion 

of metal on a two dimensional surface. 

Maybe it's a challenging exercise in "seeing." 

Whatever the reason, I simply adore painting 

metal, glass or images of water!

Trio

"Trio"

8" x 10" oil on panel

I picked these apples from a tree in

my neighborhood. I love seeing the

leaves and twigs still attached.

Red Cliff Ranch, "Celebration of the Arts"

Last Summer I was invited by Virginia Martin Whitby
to participate in "Celebration of the Arts"
at the Red Cliff Ranch near Heber City, Utah.

Virginia did an amazing job on this colossal event. 
There were artists, jewelers, musicians, horseback
rides, a gourmet barbecue and much more.

She just posted a video about the event. I thought 
you would like to take a glimpse!

Yep. I am in there too! There's a fleeting glance of 
me sitting in a chair on the left side of the screen. 
I'm practically famous! Ha-ha!

Enjoy!
https://rcrstor.blob.core.windows.net/videos/red-cliff-ranch-celebration-of-the-arts.mp4

If this link doesn't respond, simply copy it and paste it 
into your web browser address window.

Honoring Utah Artists

The opening reception for Alpine Art's "Honoring Utah Artists" was 
Friday night. The place was packed! Stop in and see the paintings.

Each artist painted a 12" x 12" work surrounded by a black frame.

I love how the director hanged the paintings in a random fashion
rather than hanging them in a traditional grid type manner. It gave 
the exhibit a bright, fresh look.

I had two pieces in the show. My pinecones and this landscape.

This month, If you are near South Temple and 5th East, 
pop in and see the show. The artwork is terrific!

Want to Learn a New Technique? Copy a Master!

After considering the artwork that hangs on the walls my home, I decided to update my decor. I wanted my home to reflect that "an artist lives here" and I wanted to look at the "works of masters" everyday.

I decided to copy some masterworks. I didn't want to paint a copy that was exactly like the original, rather I wanted to paint in the manner of some of the great masters.

Hoping that you will be inspired to paint some masterworks yourself (trust me - it isn't as easy as you think), Below is a glimpse of what I did.

When you walk into my front door, you will be greeted by a 3' x 5' Henri Matisse called "The Woman in the Purple Robe." I changed the robe to blue so that it would match my decor. Don't tell Matisse...

His original:

Here's what I painted:


























This is a work that I painted for the hallway outside my kitchen.  
I wanted something that was 3 dimensional. It was a boatload of 
fun to paint!

Above my dining room table is a piece I call "After Motherwell."
I had a blast painting it. I let the paint drip down the canvas, 
pilied on passages with a knife and I even threw paint
at it. It's 4' x 8."

Searching the internet, I could not find the exact painting of 
Motherwell's that I copied. There are hundreds of his images 
online, however this one is typical of his style:

Here is what I painted:

Van Gogh's "Harvest at La Crau:"

Here's my version:

Two of my artist friends created works that are 
fresh and modern:

My husband, Seth, is the director of the Clark Planetarium 
here in Salt Lake City. I thought it would be appropriate to
hang Van Gogh's "Starry Night" in our bedroom.

I extended the right side so that the rectangular shape 
would better fit the space. I took a little artistic license...

Van Gogh's "Starry Night:"

Susie's version:


























Here's my copy of Marc Chagall's "Hostel Des Artistes"
that also hangs in my bedroom.

By now you know that I am fond of Van Gogh's artwork.
I can't remember the name of his piece but I have it in a book
at my studio.  I cropped the grassy field at the bottom of this 
artwork so that it would fit the space and then tweaked 
some of the colors to match my room.

We, as artists, can paint whatever we want for our homes!
We are natural born editors! In fact, everything that we paint
reflects our own personal view of the world.

Although we cannot sell or promote our copies of masterworks
by creating posters, cards, etc., (it is unethical and illegal) we can 
enjoy painting copies to hang in the privacy of our own home and 
continually be inspired by the work of some of the world's greatest 
master painters!

A Slice of Life

"A Slice of Life"

8" x 16" oil on panel

In my neighborhood last year, most folks left

their apples in the tree and there was plenty 

of subject matter "hanging around." 

This year most of my neighbors had already picked

their apples and the trees were empty of fruit.

It was a challenge to find apples that had twigs 

and leaves. I drove around for a couple of hours 

looking for apples! My search eventually paid 

off and I found what I was looking for!

Second Place Award - Yay!

Last week I entered the Sandy Arts Guild Annual Show 
with my painting of "Four Apples." I didn't expect to
win anything. I just wanted to exhibit.

Lo and behold - I received the second place award along 

with a cash prize! You never know!!

Here I am pictured below (under the arrow).

I challenge you to enter an art show or competition

just for the fun of it. Really, the question to ask yourself 

is "Why not enter?"

Fried Eggs

"Fried Eggs"

10" x 10" oil on panel

This is part of my egg series.  I love a good 

breakfast in the morning and the sunny

color of egg yolks against the black

of the skillet is appealing.

Grapes

"Grapes"

10" x 6" oil on panel

I love eating fresh produce during the late summer. 

My friend, Natacha plucked these from her garden. 

They were so sweet and succulent that I wanted 

to remember them.

I couldn't find a straight pin to fasten them to

the wall so I used a safety pin. I was going to edit

it out but I thought it added character 

to the painting.  

Eggs In A Blue Bowl

"Eggs In A Blue Bowl"

10" x 10" oil on panel

Another painting in my "egg" series.  In this series

I am learning about value steps. The degree

of darkness between the light areas of an egg 

and shadow side are very subtle.

Eggs In A Basket

"Eggs In A Basket"

12" x 12" oil on panel

I photographed these eggs while shooting pictures in a friend's 

garden. He had chickens who laid eggs that were multi-colored.

I simply  had to paint the beautiful soft colors.

Pink Dahlia

"Pink Dahlia"

8" x 12" oil on panel

I did a photo shoot at my friend's garden

and saw this large Dahlia being back lit

in the early morning sun - I had to paint it!

It was the end of the summer and only

 a few flowers remained. This dahlia was

about 8 inches across. 

Magnificent specimen!

Colley Whisson Workshop

I had the pleasure of attending a 3-day workshop with Colley 
Whisson hosted by the Illume Gallery of Fine Art  in Salt Lake City.   

He created a non-threatening atmosphere by teaching us in 
a relaxed manner with a healthy dose of gentle humor. Colley 
shared a saying with us: "I am not a perfectionist, I am a 
correctionist"  

Here's the start of his first painting demonstration.

 My version of it:

Colley's palette was limited to eight colors. He likes to emphasize
keeping the tones in the shadow areas warm and rich and also to 
eliminate unimportant detail across the entire painting.

He painted a beautiful beach scene that was simple but well 
composed. Note the reference photo on the left and an image
of his painting on the bottom right.  He used both of these as
a reference to paint yet another version of the scene.

Here's my finished version. 

This is a painting of a windmill outside a window that I 
completed on the last day of the workshop. 

Colley also showed us how to block in and complete
a quick still life painting. He said that it is a good
exercise for daily painting and suggested that it 
should be completed in no more than 30 minutes.

If you ever have the opportunity to take a workshop from Colley 
Whisson, go for it!  You'll learn a lot from this master painter!