Artist Statement
"La Biblia" is a, 28" X 22" watercolor depicting El Paso, Texas, I created this piece not with reference photos, but rather as I saw it through the filter of my memory. I painted it in 2007, a milestone year for me. It was the year I decided to become a professional artist. The artist was always there, but had laid dormant for a number of years and the time was right to bring it back.
My work is organized into a series of series.
Working within a set of guidelines, or a theme I can make a group of pieces that allow for exploration and to really flesh something out. What I find in the first one is expanded on in the second, and so on. On this website, they're referred to as "Galleries". Sometimes they are grouped by subject matter, as in "Desert Blooms". Other times a gallery is grouped together around an experimentation of to the materials and methods like my "Bas Relief" gallery.
Working this way is a bit like taking a road trip. You start with that one idea. This is the hard part. Then you can begin. You take in what's happening around you. After a while you are cruising, self assured and working quickly. You are enjoying the ride, the wind is in your hair as you ride toward the horizon.
Sometimes the universe intercedes and you see that you are not heading where you thought you were going. This is the discovery period. The next part can be hard but you have to relinquish a measure of control. It's time to take that metaphoric right turn and see where it takes you. Sometimes the world expands a little and when it works, it feels like magic.
My work is nothing but a reflection of one person's journey. This is human made art. I can't believe I have to say that. This is not that shinny glossy weird AI art, this is a human artist's work: mistakes and all This kind of art cannot be replicated by AI because AI will never see the beauty in imperfection, or what it's like to make mistakes and forgive. To quote Rumi -
"The wound is where the light gets in."
Susan 2026