“Cloudscape Before the Bypass”
oil
10 x 30 in.
About the Artist:
As a young child hiking the woodlands and creeks by her family’s farmhouse outside of Philadelphia, Susan, developed a deep appreciation of the earth and an interest in depicting it in her artwork, as did her father, pastel artist Thomas Nicholas.
“All my life I have been inspired by the beauty of our fragile earth environment… Responding to the sound, smell, and light of the environment influences each of my paintings, my interpretations. The essential elements of these paintings are color, shape, sense of atmosphere, and the emotion of the moment,” says Susan.
“I strive to capture and convey a spiritual message of nature’s importance and connection to man. There is an inner peace and balance in response to the landscape that continually rejuvenates my love of painting Sky, Water and Earth.”
Susan’s unique use of color, texture, and atmosphere indeed reflects her passion for plein air painting and her work captures the landscape with spontaneity and directness. Her colorful, impressionistic, award-winning plein air pastels and oils are in nationwide private and permanent collections, such as The Penn State Conference Center, Lock Haven University, Penn College, The Williamsport Susquehanna Towers Hospital, and The Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art.
In addition to co-founding the Plein Air Painters of Central PA, Susan has also made art instruction a regular part of her successful career. Since the mid 1980’s, she has instructed students of all ages, sharing her love of nature and painting out of doors. For Hameau Artist Retreats Susan organizes workshops and classes for all proficiency levels and all art mediums. The programs are supported by top national art supply companies, such as Gamblin Artists Oil Colors, Jack Richeson & Co., Inc., Multimedia Artboard, Savoir Faire: Sennelier & Fabriano, and Unison Pastel Sandpaper
In the past year Susan’s pastel “Hameau Farm Sunset and Clouds” was published in the PleinAir magazine feature article, “The Many Moods of Clouds,” and she was a featured an “Artist to Watch” in Pennsylvania Crave Magazine.
In 2018 Susan will serve on the faculty of the 7th Annual Plein Air Convention & Expo in Santa Fe, New Mexico
Memberships:
Associate Member of the Pastel Society of America
Signature Member of the Central Pennsylvania Pastel Society
Plein Air Painters of Central Pennsylvania
Education:
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Pennsylvania State University , Cum Laude (1979)
Associate in Arts, Montgomery County Community College, Magna Cum Laude (1977)
Publications:
Fine Arts Connoisseur magazine
Pastel Journal
PleinAir magazine
Pennsylvania Crave Magazine
Galleries:
Faustina’s Gallery, Lewisburg, PA
Green Drake Gallery and Art Center, Millheim, PA
Nicholas Studios, Bellefonte, PA
State College Framing Co. & Gallery, State College, PA
Visit Susan’s website to see more of her work and learn of upcoming exhibits and scheduled workshops. www.snicholasart.com