SUSAN SWARTZ is a practicing artist of over four decades who exhibits at prestigious institutions around the globe. Many have witnessed the breathtaking fruits of her labor, but only a few have experienced what takes place behind the scenes. From conception to completion, Susan engages a non-linear process of imagining the world more beautiful than it is.

 

In the video below, Susan describes how she finds inspiration.

  • EVOLUTION OF NATURE

    EXPLORATION IN MATERIALITY

    The Evolution of Nature series integrates mixed media with an acrylic on linen composition. Susan incorporates dried flora, herbs, and other nutrient-rich elements to create layers of texture and depth. These monumental works are an ode to Susan’s journey to healing. As the title suggests, they reference the evolution of birth, growth, and decay. To encounter these paintings is a multi-sensorial experience with their strong fragrance of spices and flowers and their dimensions that extend beyond the frame, into a sculptural realm.

    EVOLUTION OF NATURE EXPLORATION IN MATERIALITY The Evolution of Nature series integrates mixed media with an acrylic on linen composition....
    Evolution of Nature 6, 2020
    60 x 60 in
    152.4 x 152.4 cm
    View more details

  • SUSAN'S STUDIO PLAYLIST

    A glimpse into what fuels Susan's productivity and inspiration in the studio. Play from the panel while viewing or open in Spotify here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4A39CBMdIzO7Ib7MjLAH17?si=D-DF04-sQra1bYQTGAjz7A

     

  • SUSAN IN HER PARK CITY, UT STUDIO

    Susan divides her time painting in both Park City, UT and Martha's Vineyard, MA. Both locations provoke different inspiration for experimentation, composition, color palettes, and references to nature.

     

    Susan spends the winter painting from Park City. Set in the high Wasatch Mountains, large windows seem to dissolve the boundary between the indoor studio and surrounding landscape. Susan chooses to keep her studio in the home because it is a space filled with love and warmth. The lights and music are often left on throughout the night so she can evaluate a day’s work.

  •

  • SUSAN IN HER Martha's vineyard studio

    Studio time in Martha’s Vineyard is broken up by seaside walks and attention to botanical growth. Smaller works are displayed in rooms throughout the house to test arrangement, spacing and lighting. Here, Susan thrives off the energy of completed paintings and time spent absorbing natural surroundings.  

  •

  •  

    "I usually begin my mornings in the studio. A home studio allows me to work at all times of the day or night. Sometimes I just reflect and look at what has been completed. I enjoy the company of my completed works - I am energized by them."

    -- Susan Swartz

    • Nature's Bouquet 31, 2019 25 x 18 in 63.5 x 45.7 cm
      Nature's Bouquet 31, 2019
      25 x 18 in
      63.5 x 45.7 cm
      View more details
      Reserved
      Enquire
    • Boundless 2, 2019 36 x 60 in 91.4 x 152.4 cm
      Boundless 2, 2019
      36 x 60 in
      91.4 x 152.4 cm
      View more details
      Reserved
      Enquire
    • Susan Swartz, Nature's Specs, 2019
      Susan Swartz, Nature's Specs, 2019
      View more details
      Enquire

  • THE EVOLUTION OF A SERIES
  • NATURE REVISITED The Nature Revisited series marks the origin of a new phase in Susan's material explorations. Here, she imprints...
    Nature Revisited 64, 2018
    12 x 12 in
    30.5 x 30.5 cm

    NATURE REVISITED

    The Nature Revisited series marks the origin of a new phase in Susan's material explorations. Here, she imprints the paintings with various objects and tools to give a luscious, textured effect. Heavy applications of paint contrast with distinct, fine lines. In a soft palette of whites, yellows, purples and blues - textural impressions resemble flower stems, petals, and other botanical life.

    Reserved
  • PETALS & POLLEN The Petals & Pollen series is a collection of small, yet intensely pigmented works on canvas. Inspired...
    Petals & Pollen 7, 2019
    12 x 12 in
    30.5 x 30.5 cm

    PETALS & POLLEN

    The Petals & Pollen series is a collection of small, yet intensely pigmented works on canvas. Inspired by Susan’s gardens in Martha’s Vineyard, the series is characterized by thick applications of paint and vibrant color. Susan finds inspiration from a close-up perspective of flower petals after a rain. The swirling motion reflects the abundance of petals toppling over each other and blooming in full.

    Reserved

  • NATURE'S BOUQUET

    Stemming from the Petals & Pollen series, the Nature’s Bouquet series is a study on floral arrangements, expressed through globs and drips of paint. This technique celebrates the dimension of the medium, and builds a sense of movement and depth. Instead of the thick swoops of paint seen in Petals & Pollen, Susan brings energetic movement to this series, as petals cascade across the canvas as if blowing in the wind.

    Enquire
  • EMERGING BOUQUET The Emerging Bouquet series is a dynamic grouping. These intensely layered paintings combine sources of inspiration from Susan's...
    Emerging Bouquet 13, 2019
    12 x 12 in
    30.5 x 30.5 cm

    EMERGING BOUQUET

    The Emerging Bouquet series is a dynamic grouping. These intensely layered paintings combine sources of inspiration from Susan's other series: Nature Revisited and Petals & Pollen. For some viewers, they find balance and harmony in the textures and colors. For others, they see a liveliness bursting forth with the movement of paint. For Susan, each work is an authentic and vulnerable transparency of her inner psyche, her soul, her biggest fears and greatest joys that surround life and the natural world.

    Reserved

  •  

    "Essence is the word that comes to mind with Susan Swartz's paintings. Nature is not replicated, but associated with color, light and form. The textures created from her palette knife and brushstrokes are energetic pulse points reminding us that life is a shimmering process, mysterious and unpredictable."

    -- Terry Tempest Williams, Author: Refuge, An Unspoken Hunger and Finding Beauty in a Broken World

     

     

     

     

  • "I am deeply inspired by the colors, textures, and sensations I experience in nature. On one particular walk, I was drawn to the various shades of green I noticed in the moss near a pond. The dampness of sea air and water just caused it to grow in abundance. And on top was debris from fall leaves, mixed with sprouts of fresh grass, and green growing up for the spring. The combination of greens and golds and browns inspired my work in the studio."

    -- Susan Swartz

  •