susan finsen

My process is a combination of intuitive drawing, conscious shaping and layering, and the search for my spontaneous 5-year old self.  I have no idea what the painting will be when I start.  I begin by making marks with crayons and paint, sometimes with my eyes closed, and then a conversation between my arm, my eyes, my feelings, and the surface of the painting takes over.  Marks are made and covered up, imagery is created, erased, and restored in a new form.   I keep working until the surface feels interesting, and use color, line, shape and plane changes to express my feelings about what I see, remember, or invent.

 

I am a founding member of the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria Virginia where I have been a resident artist since 1974, and part of the Smalling-Finsen Studio + Gallery in Penobscot Maine.