"The Bride," oil painting, won best of show in the Wet Paint competition during the American Impressionist Society Small Works Showcase Greenwich House Gallery, OH.  This show runs through April.
Cherie Dawn Haas, a writer for Fine Art Connoisseur, has published the following in regards to the show and has highlighted my paintings

https://fineartconnoisseur.com/2018/03/200-exemplars-of-american-impressionism/

City Art Gallery, NC

Two new figure painting, in oil, shown at "The Holiday Show" at the City Art Gallery, Greenville, NC.  I'm really having fun playing with artificial lights.

Cumberland Society Juried Exhibition

My figure painting is part of the Cumberland Society National Juried show in Nashville, TN. 

The show will open on October 3 with an awards reception at Richland Fine Art from 5pm-8pm.  Judge, Peggi Kroll Robertswill be on hand to present awards.

Richland Fine Art Gallery is located at 4009 Hillsboro Pike  Nashville, TN 37215   (615) 292-2781

This beautiful juried show is up online and can be seen through Richland Fine Art’s website. Go to their ‘Events’ page.  Please click ‘view the exhbition’ tab on the right on the Events page.

www.richlandfineart.com

Paintings from Plein Air Events

Port Washington, WI

"Easy Street Pub"  Cedarburg, WI

This past month I participated in four plein air events and had so much fun despite the bad weather.  I think after painting through the winter a little storm & lightening doesn't bother me anymore.

Plein Air in the Winter

We've had a few nice snow storms this month making plein air painting extraordinarily fun.  The world becomes quiet, making the whole experience more productive and personal.  Try tucking a hand-warmer in your hat and waistband.  It keeps the chill away a bit longer.

(painted March 2013, near the Grau Mill in Fullersburg Woods.  oil on linen 8"x10")

 

Plein Air Landscapes

"Inverted C" was painted near my home along the Desplaines River.  I probably never would have found this spot if it hadn't been for my old dogs wanting to get as close to the water as possible.  I try to keep Edgar Payne's compositional guidelines in mind.  In my small sketchbook I start with pencil sketches to organize my concept/composition and values.  Most of my plein air work is smaller, about 9"x12," but this oil is 12"x16."

One of my favorite themes is reflections.  I think it's a great tangent for playing with abstract concepts within representational art.  Check out Forrest Moses amazing paintings and monotypes.  "BackYard Reflections is a 8"x10" plein air study in oils.

 Last fall I taught a plein air workshop in Brown County, IN.  The colors were gorgeous and the painting locations amazing.  T.C.Steele estates also allowed us unlimited access.  After class I continued to paint along side a few hardy students.  "Autumn Red" is a 16"x12" plein air piece painted near Nashville, IN.  We will repeat this workshop October 2013.  Contact me for further information.

Brown County Plein Air Workshop 2012

Holiday Art Exhibition

City Art Gallery
"Holiday Showcase"
Greenville, NC
This group exhibition of gallery artists includes Susan's four latest figure paintings in oils.

For more information contact Susan or
Torry at (252)353-7000, art@cityartgreenville.com, www.cityartgreenville.com

 

 

 

Venice, Croatia, Sedona

"Venice"

"Rovinj"

"Cactus At First Light"













I love to travel and this year I am fortunate to do more than usual. I have recently returned from an intense trip through Venice, Croatia, the Dolomites and a day in Austria. I have my plein air kit down to a convenient size and weight, (using linen mounted on gatorboard has greatly reduced the weight.) Because of Jill Carver's excellent advice, I focus on hunting/gathering information en plein air in order to allow mother nature to be my teacher.
(these paintings are oil, painted on linen, 9"x12")

City Art Gallery Exhibition

Three new oil paintings for an upcoming show at the City Art Gallery, Greenville, NC. This group show opens July 2012.

Portrait and Plein Air Studies

Chicago winters tend to be quite gray so the few days I've ventured outside to paint the landscapes have been sunny days. I am really struggling with understanding edges. These are 14"x11" plein air oil studies.
I am still enjoying escaping the cold for the Palette and Chisel where there is always a model to paint. I'm showing two 20"x16" which are more successful than others.

2012 Events

Plein Air Workshop: Effective Outdoor Painting in Oils
(16x20 oil by Karen Phipps)
Location: Taos, New Mexico
Dates: April 26, 27, 28, 29, 2012
Cost: $335.
For Advanced Beginners through Intermediate Oil Painters.

Join award winning artists and popular instructors, Karen Phipps and Susan Hong-Sammons, in this four-day plein air painting workshop. We will be painting in the beautiful setting of Taos. You will learn practical tips for setting up on location, working quickly and directly from nature, all with oil paints. We will cover equipment options to keep your gear simple and pared down, using a limited palette, focusing on big shapes, clean color, compositions, finding a focus and simple value patterns in order to capture the essence of the scene. The goal in this workshop is to learn how to take the scene before us, translate it into a simple and expressive composition, and then paint it quickly, directly, and confidently. After the 3 days of guided painting exercises and daily critiques, we will spend the 4th day painting more independently at a location with the group, followed by an afternoon critique and closing “wrap-up” session.
Compact supply list, syllabus, as well as recommended housing/B&Bs near to painting locations.



The Landscape of Riverside: Works Inspired by Nature
Oil Painters Karen Phipps, Susan Hong-Sammons, Ellie McDonald, photographer Sophia Soluri, and poems by Rachel Noelle will present new works inspired by the local landscape and nature of Riverside at the Riverside Public Library during the months of December and January. The show can be seen in the library's exhibit hall.
















Oil Painting with Expressive Realism
January 25 - March 7, 2012 9:30-1:30
Hinsdale Center for the Arts www.hinsdalearts.org

See the world with an artistic eye. Susan’s approach helps you to break down the process of producing a painting, in the studio, into its core components: design, main masses, mixing accurate color, value, and apply paint effectively all from direct observation. Individual and group critiques generously given daily.
Class supply list available at registration

Plein Air Oil Studies

Is the light warm or is it cool, paint the form/plains, don't copy keep to your concept, composition, where's the focal point!?!? so much to think about no wonder painting becomes this consuming task that's really done all in your head.
Last week I got several days just to paint from sun up to way past sun down without worry about laundry, my wonderful family, prepping for shows etc. We plein air painted through rain, cold, heat, and even under street lamp. The following is some of the studies.
(I've lost my list of blogs which I follow. Anyone out there know how to get it back?)
"Floyd's" 6"x8"
"Field of Dreams" 8"x10"
"Sunny Spot" 8"x10"
"Riveredge Lilly" 8"x10"
"First Blush" 6"x8"
"Grape Hyacinths" 6"x8"

"En Pointe"

"En Pointe" is a 14"x11" oil painting done from a photograph by Jodie Lagana. The tutu is created by www.tutuschic.etsy.com. Normally I can't work from photographs because I find it very boring. But the spirit of Lagana's photograph seemed paintable and I think it fell into place.

Spring Mist

Misty foggy mornings continue to fascinate me. I'm after capturing just the right value to express that unique quality of air.

(6"x8" oil, $175.)

"Garden Path"

Despite our cold spring (we woke to snow Monday morning) the spring colors are sprinkling our gray days with some beautiful colors. I stood on the sidewalk while painting my neighbor's flower beds.
6"x8" oil $145.

Plein Air Bluebells

I don't know if it is safe to say or not, but I think spring is finally here. Despite a drizzly morning I really wanted to paint the bluebells before they disappeared until next year. Of course part way through the sun came out. I'm not complaining. I'll take the rays even if it meant prematurely stopping on my little oil study. Next time, paint faster or rather with better accuracy. As always, this is another value study.
6"x8" oil painting sold

in-progress

It's been crazy busy in my studio which is always a good thing but, I haven't been able to keep up with visiting blogs or posting on my blog. So I'm posting an almost finished painting. I'm still tackling florals. (I also need to tackle documenting them accurately with my digital camera.) These large old fashion roses have a lot of transmitted light through their petals and getting them just right in oils is a huge challenge.
Thank you for all the nice birthday wishes. They helped make me realize it's no big deal particularly when you get to spend your days with a brush in your hands.

50's Nifty

I turned 50 during a record breaking blizzard which created one of my best birthdays. Dear friends send birthday greetings, dropped off flowers, wine, and Cds. Since the storm steadily increase to mammoth proportions I stayed tucked in my studio painting the bouquets (with varying success) and listening to Bach. Life is sweet

Delft and Milk Glass

I've committed myself to focus on portraits and florals during these cold winter months. No more plein air painting for me until the temperatures hit the upper 20s.
So with this painting instead of my favorite dark backgrounds I played with white on white with the additional challenge of trying to use natural light to create a dark, a light, a bright, a dull.

"mello yellow"

I love yellow tulips. I love their warm and inviting color. And I love how they remind me of spring. Unfortunately a few hours after receiving 2 dozen yellow tulips they began to bend and snap 4-6 inches along their stems. Maybe because their buds were large in comparison to their skinny stems??? The following morning I clipped them and put them in water goblets. I think maybe I should have used a different color cloth instead of this khaki green. Any suggestions?
"Mello Yellow" oil on linen 24"x12"

lost momentum

I started and worked on this painting for two evenings prior to a house full of Christmas guest and never got back to it until tonight. When I began the painting, I felt it was going in the right direction but having left it alone for so long I feel like I've lost the original idea. I can't see what I originally had in my head anymore. So I'm going to turn it towards the wall for a month or more and hopefully, once I look at it with a fresh eye, I'll be able to finish it. But if anyone has any suggestions I would appreciate the input.
(I prefer to paint on a linen canvas which I already painted on but never finished. In the first few images you can see the remains of a figure oil sketch.)

"Autumn Leaves" oil 6x8

One of my new year's resolution is to be more consistent with my blog posts. This oil study was painted before our first heavy snow. Fall is definitely my favorite time of year. I love the warm colors and cool temperatures. It was so nice to be inside the woods, standing on a thick cushion of fall leaves, and painting just as the afternoon was about to end.
Oil 6"x8" sold

Merry Christmas

I painted this several years ago while studying at The Atelier (Lack) in Minnesota. On this beautiful snowy Christmas morning I would like to share this oil painting and wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas.