Biography of Susan Wester Perez
HER LIFE
A native of New York City, Susan and her family moved several times around the United States when she was a child. They lived in New York, New Jersey, Tennessee, and California then, finally, Newton, Massachusetts.
She took art throughout middle school and high school and was lucky enough to have some inspiring teachers and supportive parents who always encouraged her in her artistic pursuits. After graduating, she studied Design, Painting, and Literature at The University of Massachusetts in Amherst, and later at Massachusetts College of Art in Boston.
Looking to change her life and experience other places, she moved to California., where she worked with a chain of art supply stores and galleries. Being in a creative environment with other artists is important to her and she always feels at home there, no matter where she is physically.
She met her husband, Gerardo in L.A. and soon they left California for the borderland of El Paso, Texas.. El Paso is a vibrant colorful place and when you live there, you'll find that its hard not to be inspired. It has a unique flavor; it's a blending of the culture, people, and unique landscape of the desert. And the food is muy sabrosa.
Susan has shown her work in El Paso and Las Cruces, N.M. Her work can be seen at these two local Shops:
1. El Paso's Finest, 314 N. Mesa (downtown)
2. Ysleta Mission Gift Shop, 131 S. Zaragosa (east side)
Please follow me on Instagram @susanwesterperez, where I post my new art and other musings. Also look for new openings and festivals that I will be participating in. If you've read til the end of this TY<3
HER PROCESS
Her process typically starts with a watercolor or pencil sketch onto paper, mapping out the thrust of the composition.
“I need to understand a subject before I feel ready to paint it.” Susan says, “And that can entail anything from consulting photos and making preliminary sketches, to surfing the net for research and context. Only when I understand it can I begin to paint it.”
Typically, her next step is a base layer. Using washes of color she maps out different planes and surfaces, letting that fully dry before moving on.
“There is a transformation that takes place when watercolor dries” she explains, ”patterns and textures appear in the paper, where color has settled into tiny pools on the paper. This makes some areas darker and richer while others are filled with light.” Susan takes cues from this natural process, and strives to incorporate them into the final composition whenever possible
Her color palette is filled with saturated colors and often opposite colors share edges, making them even stronger and more vibrant. She calls this technique “making the colors sing.”
Layering of colors is another feature of her work. The transparency of the water media can give a painting a stained-glass effect when dark colors are placed over light. However, Susan will also layer light colors over dark, breaking a cardinal rule of watercolor, when she wants her piece to have a strange glow.
When different textures and/or opacity are needed, other media may be added as the final touch to a piece, such as pastel, pencil, ink, acrylic and gesso.