Feminine Viewpoint

Suzy Smith empowers the female form using cultural and social references

Suzy Smith empowers the female form using cultural and social references

Ipaint in a contemporary realistic style, creating paintings that celebrate women who are strong, women who are sensual, women who are intelligent, and sometimes women who are vulnerable. I paint these women from a female perspective, and place them against a background appropriated from iconic art images, mostly pop art, that adds to their story; such as dollar signs, numbers or the American flag. The subtle narrative I can create pairing symbols and design with the look and mood of my model is what drives a painting, bringing cohesiveness to the piece. I am painting the uniquely American culture that I grew up with in the 1960s and 1970s. Pop art was at its peak, and it was the end of the pin-up era, and the beginning

of the Playboy era. I loved these images, and they formed my aesthetic. I paint female nudes because I see it as a form of empowerment for women, and I find the female figure beautiful and strong. When I first started painting, I remember thinking the biggest challenge was to be able to paint the nude. I felt that painting the figure was the pinnacle of fine art, and I still do. I started my art career in Casper, Wyoming, taking figure drawing classes at the local community college. My intention was to draw and paint the figure, but with two small children at home, it became easier to paint still life and florals in watercolor, while I learned my craft. I loved that medium

and genre, and still go back to it occasionally, but after my children went to college, I got back to painting the figure in oil. After painting figurative art now for many years, I have realized that while some of my work uses tongue in cheek humor, I am also able to make a comment on our society and our culture. Things have certainly changed in the past few years, with the #Metoo movement, and what I am presenting and saying with my paintings is more important now than ever. My messages are subtle and there are many ways they can be interpreted. I think my paintings invoke a style, using pop art as a vehicle to enhance a portrait or figure, using the bold color and design of that era. When I look back on my body of work, I see an evolution that comes with age and adversity, making me a better painter with more to say. Recently I have started painting more clothed figures, but sometimes I feel it is necessary to paint a nude to really make my point. My use of nudity is a tool that allows me to show strength or vulnerability, depending on the narrative I am trying to create. Each painting starts with an idea or concept. The most crucial part of the painting process is developing that concept. Mastering techniques and gaining proficiency is important, but in my opinion, if the concept isn’t there, no amount of technique will create an exceptional piece of art. My process starts with gathering ideas and making or buying props for a photo shoot. The photo shoot is where the creativity takes off! My model and I discuss my ideas and plans for the shoot, and then she brings my ideas to life, adding her own unique style. That is why model choice is so important to me. After the shoot, I will choose a few exceptional photos to paint, that stand out from the hundreds I take. Sometimes I have a background planned, and sometimes I don’t. The figurative image is the most important element for me, and dictates the background. I usually paint the figure first, and

then add the background, painting each area at least twice. Paint quality is important to me, and I especially love having a textured background, like a Wayne Thiebaud painting, with thick lush paint contrasting against my model’s smooth skin. Design and color are intuitive to me and, sometimes, I feel the need for a certain color or symbol, and after the painting is complete, it makes perfect sense. After I choose a photo of my model to paint, I will incorporate different painting ideas to the background on my ipad Photoshop app, and decide which image will look best. I am able to add more layers and design elements to increase or decrease the complexity of the painting. All of this is decided by what I want to say though my model, and if it works with my initial concept. I am interested in speaking my truth, and experiences in life, through my art. I am inspired by many artists, from Mucha to Warhol, and pop art gives me a venue that I can incorporate into my own work, using layers of its strong design and color to tell a story. Currently I am interested in numbers, letters and symbols, that I find in the art of Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns and Robert Indiana. When I use their paintings in my backgrounds, it is my homage to them. In the end I believe it is up to the viewer to bring their own meaning to art. Art is not just about the artist, it is about the viewer and how he or she perceives the art. As Marcel Duchamp and Jasper Johns agreed, “The artist sets in motion a creative process that the spectators must complete.” Culture then decides what art is going to look like at any particular moment in time. Our current culture is what makes art relevant or not...and will determine whether it will be validated or not. I believe that artists must paint what they need to paint, and staying true to that intention can be hard, especially in this day of social media dictating how art is perceived. Relevance and validation are important, but not always received during one’s lifetime. So my message is: “Paint what you need to paint!”

Surrender, oil, 36 x 36" (91 x 91 cm) With this painting I was interested in combining color with black and white, as a design tool, making the word “HOPE” and the blue-and-gold star the standout features. My model is holding her hands in a “surrender” pose you often see in paintings of Mary and the Saints. I wanted to add an organic element, so I added leaves, which also act to obscure the nudity.

Blue Velvet, oil, 30 x 30" (76 x 76 cm) This is my newest painting, and it is a reaction to some negative feedback on my nudes in today’s cultural climate. I love the appearance of a ruff collar and cuffs, and to me they signify a puritanical kind of thinking. My model has a strong, almost defiant look on her face, with an explosion of sorts in the background painting by Roy Lichtenstein.

American Dream, oil, 24 x 24" (61 x 61 cm) This painting is about the American dream! Everyone wants it! And using the painting American Dream, by Robert Indiana, seemed the perfect backdrop for my model with a strong, very confident, determined look on her face. I am especially interested in the symbols and colors of Indiana’s paintings. This pop art is what I think of as Americana; images from the 1960s representing the era that I grew up in, that I find so appealing. I wanted to add even more to the design and narrative, so I added another layer with the American one dollar bill; American dream=money.

Rebirth (diptych), oil, 40 x 60" (102 x 152 cm) This diptych is significant to me because it represents something very personal…open heart surgery, vulnerability and healing! In the first half, the colors represent female sensitivity and vulnerability, which also shows in my model’s body language. With her covering her chest where the incision would be, and the way she is holding her right hand, to me signifies the beating heart. In the second half the violet represents spirituality, self-awareness and reflection, while the red signifies strength, power and passion. Her body language is open, relaxed and healed, revealing a scar down the middle of her chest. I often say the subject dictates the background, and it only became clear to me later, probably because of her hair, that Andy Warhol’s version of Sandro Botticelli’s Birth of Venus would pull the painting together.

Serenity, oil, 24 x 20" (61 x 51 cm) This is my other black-and-white painting, and one of the few times my model is not looking directly at the viewer. I wanted some kind of natural organic background, and was reading a lot about Kehinde Wiley, so although no one would ever notice, I took a tiny part of one of his leafy backgrounds for this background. Then I added the silver halo, because I always love the idea of a halo. Recently someone commented on social media how vulgar and crass it was to have nudity next to the crucifix earrings…and I hadn’t even thought of that. I look for beauty, and that is what I paint. Sometimes the meaning of a painting becomes clear to me years after it is painted.

77, oil, 24 x 18" (61 x 46 cm) 77 minutes is how long I was on the heart lung machine, during my heart surgery. This is only my second black-and-white painting, ever. Both painted after my surgery. I don’t know why, but it suddenly seemed necessary. Here the background is another Robert Indiana painting, 7. The hands at my model’s neck are related to how hard it is to breath after a machine breathes for you. It feels hard to take a deep breath.