Congratulations to Susan Verekar who earned her place as a Finalist in the 4th Edition!

WHO ARE YOU?

Artist. Designer. Lover of color. Proud wife. Doting mama. Shower singer. Cat and dog spoiler. Piano player. Bracelet collector. Efficiency enforcer. Experimenter extraordinaire. I live in Maryville, Tennessee with my husband, my almost three-year-old, two greyhounds, and two cats.

My undergraduate degree was in music performance, my master’s was in business and I had a successful career in litigation technology for many years. I also had a shop in Portland, Oregon designing and making handbags and artisanal perfume. I've always had my hand in some kind of creative endeavor, even when I was focusing on technology as my day job.

What inspired you into painting?

After starting a family, I was ready to get back into something but I wasn't sure what. I started painting as a way to clear my head and fell in love with colour and the raw expression of putting something down on canvas.

Can you explain why you choose painting as a medium for your work and voice as opposed to others?

I started painting with inks first and then jumped into charcoal sketching and oil painting. I joined a year-long painting program to experiment and try a bunch of different styles and mediums and eventually have fine-tuned my passion into abstracts. Inks introduced me to playing with raw color and my voice has evolved into painting with acrylics and oils. I like to paint in a limited palette and explore all the hues within a color family. I feel I can be the most expressive in this way and it really allows me to focus on the composition and meaning of color within specific tones.

Can you discuss the decision to create abstract work?

I've always loved abstract art. Abstraction to me means freedom. The freedom for myself to create and dive into pure color and emotion, but also the viewer’s freedom of feeling and interpretation. I’m also really inspired by architecture and interesting angles which you’ll see represented in my work through contrasting values. I love that a viewer can find meaning through their own lens instead of me painting something that clearly tells the viewer what it's about.

Can you tell us about the inspiration behind "The Beauty of Becoming"?

The Beauty of Becoming is a little less structured than my normal pieces. I love the messiness. To me, it represents the journey of self-discovery, which isn't a clear path or experience. It also shows a lot of hope and a celebration of a breakthrough. When I first started the piece, I didn't necessarily have these things in mind, they just come out as I'm painting. I usually start with a framework and let myself explore and get really excited about happy accidents. I felt a heavy ocean landscape influence and decided to run with it as it emerged.

Can you walk us through the physical creation of "The Beauty of Becoming"?

I usually start a piece with blocking in the darkest values in black acrylic, followed by a layer of acrylic washes. I like to intuitively write into my pieces and leave some of it showing. I think there's something really beautiful about letters and writing, so you'll always see snippets of this in my works. I finish with 2-3 layers of oil, adding depth of color and all the bright whites.

What projects are you working on currently? Can you discuss them?

I'm working on a series of paintings that combine architectural elements with clouds. I love the contrast of different elements and feel like it reflects another aspect of life's journey. No one is completely one thing, it's always a mixture of opposites, finding a balance somewhere in the middle.

Lastly, I would like to ask what advice you would give to your fellow artists/photographers?

I don't know about giving advice to others, but the philosophy that I follow is to just keep painting and sharing. Every piece I paint teaches me something, and every share gets me potentially in front of someone who hasn't seen my work before.

To view more of Susan Verekar’s work

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