Susan's life as an Emergency Medicine Physician began in 1990. The experiences caring for others in crisis were both difficult and exciting, filled with joy and despair, extreme contradictions that dramatically impact my artistic approach. Her hope is that her work inspires contemplation of the juxtapositions in our lives.... of ideas, thoughts, reflections and actions, all competing for our attention.
Painting and creating have been part of Susan's life for as long as she can remember. Being entirely self-taught, her journey to the present has had glories, bumps, pauses and lengthy stalls. In the early ‘90s, she read Betty Edward’s Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain and was astonished by her right brain. Susan had lived in her left-brain for so many years she had no idea her creativity was seeking expression. The works of Vermeer, Van Gogh and Fantin-Latour are among her favorites and are sources of great inspiration.
Life, as it is wont to do, intervened and there were several years when Susan didn’t paint at all. And then in January 2016, something magical happened. She had a dream. It woke her from sleep and guided her to buy a cake-icing spatula and to paint with it. The very next day, she bought one and her joyful, peaceful and creative journey to the present day began.
If an artist's style can be categorized, Susan's would be considered contemporary realism/minimalism with a sprinkle of hope. She often describes it as the absolute absence of chaos which everyone needs, especially now. Her goal as a human being and artist has always been to seek beauty and light, stillness and peace, tranquility and calm....and the radiance of hope.
Susan was born and raised in St. Louis, MO. In 1983, she graduated from the University of Detroit with a BS in Chemistry and in 1987 received my MD from St. Louis University School of Medicine. She moved to Atlanta in 1987 for residency at Emory University School of Medicine and fell in love with the South. Susan retired from Emergency Medicine in October 2017 and began painting full time, committing daily to artistic expression.
She lives in Atlanta with her yellow lab, Noah. Her children and grandchildren are scattered around the country.
