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 needed income. The desire to focus on abstraction had been there, but not the luxury to do so, until the mid 2000’s.
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. The challenge is being able to notice when she has happened upon a direction that will be the beginning of a new piece.
Forces in everyday life, along with those gathered from memory, are filtered during the action of painting, bringing voice to these intangibles. Her first application of color sets up contrast immediately, which she begins to balance from and build upon, sometimes gluing in found paper, material or canvas remnants. Guided by intuition Susan ultimately steers toward achieving some expression of beauty, a vital lubricant from which both life and art are further enlivened.”