Susan J. Blackmon
“Susan Blackmon’s avenue into abstraction began about 3 decades after receiving her BFA in painting in 1976. She worked in various artistic vocations ~ graphic design, professional framing and the applied arts ~ all for income. Her preference for abstraction grew out of determining that the intrigue for her is in the painting process itself.
One dynamic in her abstract approach is of the immediate output of energy recorded; in colors, gestures, movements and segments. To her, this is what painting abstractly is, in the same way one might generate the energy to pedal a bicycle, it’s the energetic expression and record of fleeting moments, moods and ideas.
This type of approach allows for utilizing a rich vocabulary of limitless mark making techniques, color combines, layering and revealing. Blocks of texture or random lines and shapes are freely obliterated or built upon while coaxing a balance between tension and release.
Sometimes collaged elements like found paper, material or canvas remnants are utilized to create more ambiguity. Forces in everyday life, along with those gathered from memory, are filtered during the action of painting, bringing voice to these intangibles Guided by intuition Susan ultimately steers toward achieving some expression of beauty, an inducer to the vitality of both life and art.