SUSAN JANSEN Susan Jansen grew up in the Bay Area and has recently returned here after 23 years in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. A self-taught artist, Susan has always been fascinated by portrait painting, and has enthusiastically studied the work of her artist “heroes”: Anders Zorn, Joaquin Sorolla, Valentin Serov, and John Singer Sargent. Although drawing occupied much of her childhood, thoughts of becoming a full time artist were put aside while she worked several years as a police dispatcher at an Orange County, California police department and later as a wife and mother to her family. Once her children became more independent, Susan found great camaraderie and guidance in a group of young art students who were painting at the Palette and Chisel Club, a more than 100 year old mansion in Chicago, during the early 1990’s. These talented and generous students, Scott Burdick, Susan Lyon, and Clayton J. Beck to name a few, welcomed Susan into their painting group and were the reason she caught many pre-dawn flights from Dallas to brave the Chicago weather and paint with them in the attic and coach house of the Palette and Chisel Club. Their encouragement to seek gallery representation launched a whole new world for Susan of successful participation in shows, portrait commissions, teaching, affiliation with many galleries and loyal collectors throughout the United States, in Europe, and Russia. She has since won many awards, and her work was featured in Southwest Art Magazine in November 2001. Susan also enjoys painting still lifes, café scenes, and figures in interiors along with portraits. “I love painting these little slices of life. A lot of my “figures in interiors” paintings commemorate a place and occasion in my life that was particularly enjoyable, such as a dinner out with family or friends, or a scene from a vacation spot. I want my viewer too to find pleasure in these re-enactments of the enjoyable times in life.” Known for her ability to capture a true likeness in her portraits, Susan finds inspiration in every face she paints and says she will always love painting people. “It’s the spirit behind the features that keeps me coming back for more. Much like a landscape painter falls in love with the land, I see such beauty in the human face. I want to capture it all on canvas.” Susan’s studio is located at the ICB Building #345A, in Sausalito, Ca. and she welcomes visitors by appointment. |