A friend gave Susan Singer a box of pastels for Christmas in 2001. “Ninety-six fabulous colors” inspired Susan to begin working with color. Prior to that she was drawing in black and white with pencil, plus doing some polymer clay jewelry and other mediums. Today, she does color studies, nudes, landscapes and still-life works using pastels and oils.
On her website (www.susansinger.com) Susan says, “What could be sexier than fruits and vegetables? They’re round. They’re voluptuous. They have beautiful colors.” And in her art, they are indeed sexy! Ashland Coffee and Tea’s Listening Room in Ashland is exhibiting a number of these engaging works through April. Her own words best describe her passion for her food subjects: “Vegetables have a more complex shape than fruits in general, so it's fun to work with them sometimes instead of apples and pears. I love the in-and-out-ness of the acorn squash, the papery translucence of onion skin, the shiny curves of the peppers, and the juicy richness of the tomatoes! Each form has its own inherent beauty whether it's the simplest egg or the most complex knobby gourd.”
Sometimes the Outer Banks of North Carolina inspires Susan to paint. She vacations there in the early Spring or late Fall “when the long stretches of beach are almost empty and the skies are at their most brilliant.” She paints plein aire (while sitting in front of the scent) and also from photographs taken on her vacation.
Susan can be found during the week teaching pastels at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond. She holds a Master of Interdisciplinary Studies in Art and has studied at Arrowmont and other art schools. Currently she is working on a series of female nudes. She has always worked with the body, but she wanted to express the beauty of every woman, using models of different ages and sizes. Going against the main stream has had interesting consequences. People aren’t always comfortable with seeing the old, gaunt, or obese forms. But sometimes viewers are really excited about seeing women as they really are.
In October, the Visual Art Studio will mount a solo exhibition of Susan’s work, “Authentic Flesh.” Watch their website for opening date information. For blog lovers, Susan’s blog can be found at susansingerart.blogspot.com.
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