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Stand before a Susan Simon painting and you cannot help but feel a spiritual presence. Each painting holds a depth in texture as well as image that mirrors the spirituality of the woman who turned a simple white canvas into a work of art that touches the soul.
“I like to paint things of beauty; things that are in my heart and soul."
Artists often prepare a canvas with a wash before setting out to paint. Simon takes this simple task to a new level, working hours and even days to create the perfect background. She lifted one canvas and held it at arms length. “I just love the way this turned out,” she smiled. The canvas had an ochre hue that seemed to move before your eyes, its center, nearly white as if blending into another space. Never willing to hurry a painting, “I can have 25 paintings going at a time.” After mastering the perfect base, she then paints delicate images that recall images of petroglyphs of natural objects and animals. While visiting with her we looked out the studio window, tucked into the forest beside her home, and saw a deer grazing on winter grass above the snow. It seemed that even the animals understand the depth of this woman.
“I like to have themes to my paintings,” she explained. “Art allows us to put convictions in visual form. I’m not a traditional landscape artist; I’m more interested in common, small every-day miracles. We all have stories to tell.”
Her Pathfinders series comes “totally out of experiences. Imagine the story of a butterfly that migrates 1500 miles…” And so, the butterfly appears on her canvas. After a recent trip to Africa “a zebra showed up on my canvas.”
Raised in a traditional home, Simon has found herself on a new path. She truly embraces elements of many religions, and these elements often are revealed in her paintings, and lately her new venture of creating strands of stunning beads. “I was raised Catholic, so the Rosary was a part of my life,” she explained. “These beads are meant to be handled in the same way.” She keeps several of the large strands, finished off with horse hair, on the table in her living room. “People will come to visit, and I find they pick them up and start to touch the beads, handle them, without even realizing what they’re doing.”Each bead is carefully selected. Simon gathers intricate Asian beads that feature tiny wire designs, volcanic beads, natural stones, glass and even manufactured beads that recall life in the 50s and 60s. “I intended them to be held, but one woman told me that she wore hers as a necklace. When her husband went into surgery, she hung on to the beads to comfort herself. That means so much to me.” Simon has created a life of beauty. Her studio floor is covered with a beautiful carpet, candles burn and soft music plays. “I don’t watch TV,” she said. “I read. When my husband is away, I get reclusive.” Simon’s husband, Peter, is an accomplished concert pianist. Their son Saling spent years traveling with his father, performing along side him. “Saling took an early retirement at the age of 16,” Simon laughed. Her daughter Chloe is a violinist, “and a terrific painter and draftsman.”
Their home is tucked into the forest with a stunning view of Mt. Evans. Throughout their home are relics from their travels across the world, each reminding them of the people and experiences they enjoyed. And throughout it, there is a peaceful calm that invites guests to slow down and appreciate the joys of life. Her paintings seem to encapsulate the environment in which they were created.
