I discovered Susie Gregory’s art as I was doing soul searching. Her art has touched me very deeply, filling me with a sense of hope and beauty. Her artworks continue to amaze me.
Susie grew up with passion for drawing. For over 40 years, she has worked in multiple media, which include watercolor, pastel, oil and mixed media. Susie draws her artistic inspiration from places she lives in: scenic and nostalgic hills of southern Indiana and ever-changing and yet ever-the-same marshlands of coastal Georgia.
Since 2009, Susie has been painting one piece a day. You can admire her work on her website Susie Gregory Fine Art and her blog Susie’s Queue.
Susie’s work has been acknowledged nationally and internationally. Her work has been featured in the Indiana State Museum as well as Governor’s Mansion. It is also hanging in corporate and private collections across the United States, Canada, Costa Rica and Australia.
Susie Gregory: ‘No matter which medium you choose, you will always find a spot for it in your home’
Adam Ziemba: What are some tips you need to know before purchasing art? Why?
Susie Gregory: Some people want a painting to go with their couch. There is nothing wrong with that. I have personally worked with folks to create something for them. Others only purchase “dead artists.” These people typically have a lot of expendable income and they purchase for investment purchases. However, the majority of people, in my opinion, fall somewhere in between. They buy art that speaks to them.
AZ: Who do you purchase paintings from?
SG: I usually try to purchase the demo when i take a workshop. I consider myself to be very lucky. Over the years, I have collected some very nice pieces from high quality artists at a fraction of what those pieces would normally cost.
AZ: Are there any ways to recognize an artist who creates high quality work? If so, how can you tell?
SG: In representational art, you can tell an artist who has spent miles and miles on the journey, who has painted on canvas after canvas. Like anything in life, practice makes perfect. An artist producing quality work pays attention to line, shape, composition, value (light and dark contrast), color, edges and paint quality, just to name a few.
AZ: Oil, acrylic, pencil… Which one to choose?
SG: There are so many types of art. Oil, acrylic, pastel, pen and ink, colored pencil, watercolor, mixed media, photography, to name just a few. Art needs to speak to you. If it does, no matter which medium you choose, you will always find a spot for it in your home.
As many artists, I started out drawing and worked my way through watercolor, pastel and acrylic. When I stumbled upon oil, it quickly became my most favorite medium. Oil allows paintings to be almost photographic. However, in my experiments with oil, I have managed to also create abstract art. However, it needs to have a meaning, not just be a bunch of mindless spatters. Design and color are so important.
AZ: If acquiring custom paintings, how to best work with an artist to make the process smooth?
SG: I have done many commissioned pieces over the years. The themes included pets, nature, landscapes and humans. People commission for a variety of reasons, such as birthday gifts.
Most frequently, I work from photographs and work with the client to come up with the best result. In the case of Miminiska Falls, we combined two photos and changed up the jacket color. It was a birthday surprise. My client was truly surprised. He said it was the best birthday present he had ever received! Another reason I love what i do. 🙂
Some images in this post are a courtesy of the following: