Featured Artist Suzanne Aulds

Suzanne Aulds translates a love of beauty and appreciation of nature into her still life paintings and landscapes. See more of her portfolio by visit her website.

 

 

My life has always revolved around art. When I was a child, I always preferred coloring and drawing to playing outside with the other children. Art allowed me to communicate with others in my own language while building my confidence and honing my skills.

 

 

After experimenting with many mediums, I discovered oils and fell in love. While I occasionally use watercolor, and always draw in graphite or pastel pencil, most of my work is oil-based.

 

 

I am inspired by beauty. I find it in nature and in the elements within my immediate environment. My still life paintings are created by carefully selecting elements that will both harmonize and contrast with one another.

 

 

Color, composition, texture and shape are painted with an eye towards how the various elements combine to create a cohesive whole. I sometimes employ a limited palette, to produce work of serene beauty.

 

 

Alternately, I use complementary colors when my intention is to create a more vibrant work of art. My overall aim is to create work that is technically excellent and visually striking.

 

 

My landscape paintings are inspired by an arresting color, or an interesting combination of man-made and natural elements. I love the contrast between the colors and textures of nature versus those that have been manufactured. For example, my series of kayak paintings were born of my fascination with the bright, crayon colors of the kayaks, nestled within the quiet environment of the marsh. This contrast is simultaneously exciting and yet tranquil—the balance, perfect.

 

 

I work in my studio, mostly from photographic reference. My still lifes are carefully composed in my studio, from which I take many photographs, and select the one with the strongest composition.

 

 

My landscapes, obviously, are photographed outside, but the rest of the creative process is the same as with still life. The drawing is the foundation upon which the painting is built, so it must be perfect.

 

 

I always paint from background to foreground, large expanses to smallest details. I am finished with the work only once my eye is not able to detect a problem or a flaw.

 

 

I was recently asked if I would paint even if no one were to ever see my work. I thought about it (for about two seconds) and realized that here was no question whatsoever. Art allows me to communicate on a grand scale, and I love to share my paintings with the world, but that was never my main reason for painting. Yes, it allows me to reach many people, which is so gratifying, but the driving force behind my work is the need to create. It satisfies my soul, and I cannot imagine my life without it.

 

Artist Suzanne Aulds invites you to follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

 

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