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Born to be an artist, Susan has, in recent years, become known for her
watercolors of beloved local landmarks and local scenes, both in the South Bay
of Los Angeles and her hometown of Kokomo, Indiana. She also loves
painting flowers and she has just finished her first piece from her recent trip to
Italy.
Born and raised in Kokomo, Indiana, Susan feels very connected to the people
and places she loved as a child. She will be returning twice to Indiana this
year for a wedding and her 40th high school reunion. She landed in the South
Bay at age seventeen due to her mother's search for a warmer climate. Her
first look at the Pacific Ocean inspired the high school art student to do a pen
and ink and watercolor of the Redondo Beach breakwater. As a first year art
major in college she painted the local Point Vicente lighthouse and regretfully
gave it to a boyfriend before she found Bob, the man she has been happily
married to for thirty-four years. Fortunately, she has completed two new Point
Vicente pieces.
Susan went on to get her art degree at Long Beach State University, got
married, and then started a family. Art was always in her thoughts, but she
quickly learned she was not the type of artist who could stop to make a
peanut butter sandwich. "I put my paints away while I raised my family."
Having a child with special needs led her into a life of advocacy for families
with special needs children and away from the more personal pursuit of
painting.
Nine years ago, approaching fifty and seeing her children's lives becoming
more independent, Susan went back to college and took a watercolor class.
She was inspired by the instructor as well as the other students who ranged in
age from eighteen to over eighty. She also got a state of the art computer and
digital camera at the same time. Through studying the work of artists she
admired, she discovered that, like many of them, she enjoyed painting in the
studio from her own digital photos.
At the same time, Susan and a friend started a breakfast club for women at
"Polly's on the Pier" in Redondo Beach, California, vowing to eat there every
Tuesday for the rest of their lives. "We take a picture every week and one day
I snapped a photo of the pier itself. I decided to do a painting of it and it
turned out great."
Almost everyone in the breakfast club wanted a copy of the painting and so
did the owners and employees of the restaurant. This prompted her to learn
about Giclee prints. "I did not want to print my work in an inferior medium,
one that would fade and look cheap." She could not believe how close to the
original the Giclee looked and felt as well as being comprised of archival inks
and 100% cotton watercolor paper. So, two days after her daughter got
married, she opened her business, Watercolors by Sue.
Susan is a member of the South Bay Watercolor Society (SBWS) and the
Torrance Artist's Guild (TAG).These associations connect her to artists in the
community and offer inspiring demonstrations by talented artists each month.
She heads the committees that volunteer to coordinate and hang shows in the
Armstrong Theater in Torrance, California, for both organizations. When time
allows, she enjoys meeting a group called, The Thursday Morning Painters, to
paint "plein air" at various local scenes.
"My biggest challenge now is to find the time to paint and continue
learning the fine art of watercolor. My life is so good at this stage
that I want it all. Travel, special time with my husband and
adult children, precious time with my new grandson and hopefully
lots of wild, fun time with my friends and extended family. I feel in
a hurry to do it all, but I don't want to forget to stop and smell, as
well as paint, the roses."
watercolors of beloved local landmarks and local scenes, both in the South Bay
of Los Angeles and her hometown of Kokomo, Indiana. She also loves
painting flowers and she has just finished her first piece from her recent trip to
Italy.
Born and raised in Kokomo, Indiana, Susan feels very connected to the people
and places she loved as a child. She will be returning twice to Indiana this
year for a wedding and her 40th high school reunion. She landed in the South
Bay at age seventeen due to her mother's search for a warmer climate. Her
first look at the Pacific Ocean inspired the high school art student to do a pen
and ink and watercolor of the Redondo Beach breakwater. As a first year art
major in college she painted the local Point Vicente lighthouse and regretfully
gave it to a boyfriend before she found Bob, the man she has been happily
married to for thirty-four years. Fortunately, she has completed two new Point
Vicente pieces.
Susan went on to get her art degree at Long Beach State University, got
married, and then started a family. Art was always in her thoughts, but she
quickly learned she was not the type of artist who could stop to make a
peanut butter sandwich. "I put my paints away while I raised my family."
Having a child with special needs led her into a life of advocacy for families
with special needs children and away from the more personal pursuit of
painting.
Nine years ago, approaching fifty and seeing her children's lives becoming
more independent, Susan went back to college and took a watercolor class.
She was inspired by the instructor as well as the other students who ranged in
age from eighteen to over eighty. She also got a state of the art computer and
digital camera at the same time. Through studying the work of artists she
admired, she discovered that, like many of them, she enjoyed painting in the
studio from her own digital photos.
At the same time, Susan and a friend started a breakfast club for women at
"Polly's on the Pier" in Redondo Beach, California, vowing to eat there every
Tuesday for the rest of their lives. "We take a picture every week and one day
I snapped a photo of the pier itself. I decided to do a painting of it and it
turned out great."
Almost everyone in the breakfast club wanted a copy of the painting and so
did the owners and employees of the restaurant. This prompted her to learn
about Giclee prints. "I did not want to print my work in an inferior medium,
one that would fade and look cheap." She could not believe how close to the
original the Giclee looked and felt as well as being comprised of archival inks
and 100% cotton watercolor paper. So, two days after her daughter got
married, she opened her business, Watercolors by Sue.
Susan is a member of the South Bay Watercolor Society (SBWS) and the
Torrance Artist's Guild (TAG).These associations connect her to artists in the
community and offer inspiring demonstrations by talented artists each month.
She heads the committees that volunteer to coordinate and hang shows in the
Armstrong Theater in Torrance, California, for both organizations. When time
allows, she enjoys meeting a group called, The Thursday Morning Painters, to
paint "plein air" at various local scenes.
"My biggest challenge now is to find the time to paint and continue
learning the fine art of watercolor. My life is so good at this stage
that I want it all. Travel, special time with my husband and
adult children, precious time with my new grandson and hopefully
lots of wild, fun time with my friends and extended family. I feel in
a hurry to do it all, but I don't want to forget to stop and smell, as
well as paint, the roses."
© 2006 Susan Vint-Schilling
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