- Written by: Susan
"So the cliff looms large, leads to a waterfall/rocks all around, to crack bones like sticks/diamonds are forged, in the furnace mother earth, shining with brilliance, direct me to that path." (Excerpt)
Those words were not written by me before I painted this painting in 2004, but they reflect an internal struggle within me to this day, and within a lot of people I imagine, about risk taking - also about the insecurities of failing and not living up to others' expectations...of constantly pushing the envelope and making life unnecessarily difficult. Themes of the human condition provide endless opportunities for creative exploration for an artist. It's not always well received, though, and not typically the most marketable material; but for me, it has always been the most satisfying to paint.
Now, one might look at this painting and read into it some undercurrent of disdain - sacrilege. Obviously, when I painted this, I thought that might create a stir - here the risk - but in the end, conveying the message that the miracle of life is how often we are held aloft by Providence even while diving off of the "metaphorical" rocky cliffs - how this is even necessary to grow spiritually - well, in the end, this was the struggle I wanted this painting to explore.
"It's true I guess, there's peace with no ripple/when you don't skip stones, the water is a mirror/pushing the comfort limit, is risky business/failing to push at all, you get no-where."
Against the Flow
This painting is sold and no prints are available.
- Written by: Susan
In 2005, I was living in Brooksville, Fl , living on a 5-acre plot surrounded by even larger plots and plenty of seclusion to paint. I had my own studio and no one around me to influence my painting. I was showing my work at the time; and is often common with artists, there can be a lot of isolation in between exhibits. Obscurity's Hunger is a darker theme - the large cityscape where homelessness is omnipresent yet overlooked because of indifference or desensitization but yet there is often acts of compassion. I was painting largely from memory of my visits to cities like Newark, NJ, Trenton, NJ and even New York City - Penn Station, as an example.
What I pulled from the threads of my memory of graphic scenes like this was the loneliness of isolation. I remember a book I had read - that the most important thing a human being needs in his/her existence is to be recognized and validated. Really, sometimes it can be as simple as a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, a warm embrace - but often much more - food, shelter, dignity.
This painting was not done to spotlight those in power who live for attention, or who seem to attract attention at every turn because of who they are and what people perceive they can get from them . Instead, this painting focuses more on the downtrodden, the isolated people who suffer publicly and often privately.
Obscurity's Hunger
This painting was sold and no prints are available.
- Written by: Susan
At this time of experimentation with figurative work, I liked illustrating themes dealing with the darker side of the human spirit. This painting was a representation of the isolation and insecurity a person can feel when they believe that others are not supportive of them, often even trying to tear down their success. Now, vultures don't kill their prey, but rather feed on dead carcasses. The elevated figure with the vultures waiting patiently suggest that they are just waiting for her - obviously reveling in her triumph - to fall, crushed, defeated. Rather grim.
The Vultures are Ready