Susan Melrath
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FIGURATIVE ABSTRACT
IN PERSON RETREATS
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Susan Melrath
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Statement

My work is inspired by my experiences; the landscapes, structures and people around me everyday…and the dreams that come at night. Sometimes it’s the graceful lines of a fresh-picked bouquet, the hard edges of an aging barn, or the visitation of a magical creature from my subconscious. But once the paint is poured, the inspiration becomes a distant memory. There is a new and complicated problem to be negotiated and decisions to be made. What combination of color and value will hit the right note? What will stay and what will go? Taking risks, experimenting, and playing is a part of the painting process that thrills me. This is where I discover surprises and unexpected imagery. This is the stuff of dreams, metaphor, magic. It unfolds when I am courageous and let the painting tell me what it wants.

 
 

Bio

Susan’s painting journey began in Seattle, WA in 2010, after many successful years as a freelance illustrator. With clients including IBM, Simon & Schuster, Time Life Books, and the Miami Herald, this career was lucrative. But when her desire to make more personal work deepened, she began to carve out creative time in the studio. Her practice evolved into a steady connection to the work she was making. What she discovered in this practice was a world of magic and metaphor in a process that informs her life. 

Susan returned to PA in 2014, after 20 years in the Pacific NW. She paints in her studio in Southern Chester County, and shows her work at Art & Light Gallery in Greenville, SC and Museo Gallery in Langley, WA. Susan has coached thousands of artists in an online art program called Art2life, and in 2023 began offering destination retreats and workshops through ARTfuel Studio.

Melrath’s paintings are exquisitely rendered, with a depth of pigments that draws you nearer to inspect how they’re put together. She’s careful, however, to let the sometimes ragged edges of inspiration show. You’ll feel like you’re discovering the meanings right along with her. Visually unpacking these paintings could take a while, as time spent with them reveals their elements gradually. Of course, you could regard them as bold graphic statements and leave it at that, but to Melrath’s credit, there is a voluminous amount of thought behind each piece. 

John Chambless, staff writer Chester County Press

 

Resume…

Education

EDGE Professional Development Program for Visual Artists; Seattle, WA

Hussian School of Art; Philadelphia, PA

University of Dijon; Dijon, France

Oxford Area High School; Oxford, PA

Work Experience

Freelance Illustration: Clients included IBM, Simon and Schuster, Time Life Books, Miami Herald, JC Penney

Exhibitions

2023 A Sense of Place; Art & Light Gallery, Greenville, SC; solo show

2020 Rough Around the Edges online exhibition; Juror Jen Tough

Women Artists Making Their Mark; O’Hanlon Center, Mill Valley CA

2019 Oxford Arts Alliance; Oxford, PA; “Abstract Thinking;” solo show

2018                   Bradford Gallery; CCAA; West Chester, PA; three person show

2014                   Bluestone Fine Art Gallery; Philadelphia, PA; solo show 

2012                   Lucia Douglas Gallery, Bellingham, WA

2011                   Sightline Institute, Seattle, WA

2008                   City of Woodinville, City Hall, Woodinville, WA

Group Exhibitions

2018                   National Juried Show; 2nd Place Award; Juror Al Gury

2016                   National Juried Show; Juror Jennifer Samet

                          Oxford Arts Alliance, Oxford, PA

2015                   National Juried Show; Juror Dr. J. Susan Issacs 

                          Oxford Arts Alliance, Oxford, PA

2014                   Inflorescence; Kirkland Arts Center; Kirkland, WA

2013                Simon Mace Gallery, Port Townsend, WA 

                          TK Corridor Gallery, Seattle, WA

2012                   Centennial Center Gallery, Summer Art Exhibit, Kent WA

                          Lucia Douglas Gallery, Bellingham, WA 

                          Columbia City Gallery, Seattle, WA

2011                   UnPlugged, ArtsWest Gallery Seattle, WA

                          Driven to Abstraction, UpFront Gallery, Issaquah, WA

                          Flora and Fauna, EAFA Gallery, Seattle Design Center, Seattle, WA

2010                   Portraits, Ida Culver House, Seattle, WA

                          EAFA 35th Annual Exhibition; Bellevue, WA

                          Along the EDGE, MV Arts Center; Maple Valley, WA

                          To the Edge, ArtEAST Gallery; Issaquah, WA 

                          Safe Harbor, Port Angeles Fine Arts Center; Port Angeles, WA

Grants/Residencies

2017                   C. X. Carlson Trust Teaching grant 

2016                   Oxford Mainstreet Inc. exterior mural

                          Oxford Mainstreet, Inc.; Oxford Area Foundation

2014                   Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT

                          NLAPW; Shirley Holden Helberg Grant

Public Collections

        Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN

Oxford Mainstreet, Inc.; Oxford, PA mural

        Swedish Art Collection; Seattle WA 

        Group Health, Seattle

        Heathman Hotel, Kirkland, WA

        Tacoma General Hospital; Tacoma, WA

Reviews/Interviews