Truro, oil on canvas, 30x30 inches
-Susan, we'd love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today, both personally and as an artist.
I had a long career and didn’t start painting till I was 60 years old but I always knew there was an artist inside me. (See my bio). An artist sees the world a little differently, has a unique vision. And in these times those visions are so necessary to offer a contrast to reality, a little nostalgia and a breath of fresh air.
NEW YORK WATERTOWERS, oil on canvas, 30X40 inches
-What’s the first spark that draws you into a scene… a memory, something felt in the air, something personal, or simply the beauty of what you see?
Almost every time, what draws me into a scene is the way the light is hitting an object, a building or a landscape and the shadows that are created. That light that creates positive and negative shapes that can carve out a composition. Light can turn a common object into a hero, or a mundane scene into a thing of beauty. I love it and I push the contrast to emphasize it. But it’s so fleeting! Don’t blink.
BRIDGEPORT CLOSE UP, oil on canvas, 20X20 inches
-There’s a confidence in your palette-knife surfaces that gives your work a beautiful sculptural quality. How does using a palette knife change the way you move, decide, and make marks, and what does it give you that a brush doesn’t?
When you use a palette knife to paint you must be prepared to give up a certain amount of control. That’s not for everyone. With the knife you can’t be too meticulous about your marks. Sometimes you intend a certain stroke, but it comes out a bit different. Oh wow! Maybe that’s better than what I intended. Surprise! Over the years I’ve learned more control but I still get some surprises and the trick is to leave them. The work will get looser and fresher. Not perfect and tight. Be prepared to use a lot of paint! It goes on thickly, but also can be used to create a very smooth surface, a clean edge or a wispy cloud. It's so versatile and can be used in many ways.
Steve's Shack, oil on canvas, 36x36 inches
-When you’re painting, what role does light play for you, and how do you turn something as fleeting as atmosphere into a lasting presence on the canvas?
You’ve heard my rant about how much light means to me, but it’s fleeting. When I’m painting en plein air where you cannot control the light I usually take a photo when it’s just how I want it. Often it’s the light/shadow that draws me to a scene in the first place, but 10 minutes later it's changed. So the trick is not to chase it—freeze it in a photo or in your mind. Atmosphere is tough to capture, but can usually be done through value and warm vs. cool colors. I often use glazes to soften a background and create distance.
Bridgeport Power, oil on canvas, 36x36 inches
-What's the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
Please visit my website: susanfehlinger.com to view my work.
Instagram: @susanfehlinger.
Feel free to contact me through my website and set up a visit to my studio: Metro Art Studios in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
I also exhibit in Litchfield, Connecticut, at the Alofft Gallery.
Statement
I think my 35 year career as a television producer in New York City taught me so much about how to see. I learned about composing within the frame and the magic of light. I spent hours watching a director building a scene —placing the objects within a set, lighting them, creating focal points, and a way to invite the viewer in. Or on location waiting hours for the ‘golden hour’ when the sun is rising or setting and light is just right.
After many years I quit my job, moved to Cape Cod and started to explore my own creativity.
I had always wanted to paint, but never could find the time. I discovered the palette knife early on and found that I could apply oil paint on a canvas quickly, thickly, and spontaneously. I loved the textures I could produce with the knife and I loved no brushes to wash. I am a self-taught artist. I try to capture the light, push the contrast, play with point of view, scale and negative/positive spaces. I want to create a strong sense of place, a familiar but somewhat abstracted place, a place we feel we’ve been in before. My joy as an artist is showing people the beauty in the familiar.
Since moving to Bridgeport CT I am enjoying painting urban landscapes reminiscent of my years in New York. But I also love the serene beauty of the coast and this contrast intrigues me and inspires me. Hopper, my hero, also loved the energy and complexity of the city, and the sparseness of Coastal Cape Cod.
I now have a beautiful studio at Metro Arts in Bridgeport, and am painting or teaching every day.
Maine Rocks!, oil on canvas, 20x20 inches
Bio
Watertowers, oil on canvas, 40x30 inches
Susan Fehlinger had been yearning to paint throughout her 35 year career as a television producer in New York City, but never found the time. “I wanted to explore my creative right brain after years of favoring the left.” So in 2003 she moved to Cape Cod, bought a Bed and Breakfast and began painting.
She began painting the coastal landscapes and cottages around her. She pushed the contrast of the Cape light, played with composition, scale, placement and negative/positive spaces. Hopper was her hero.
She soon joined the Chatham Art Gallery and was represented by Sheldon Fine Arts in Newport RI and Saratoga NY, and had solo shows at The Cultural Center of Cape Cod and The Cahoon Museum of American Art.
“I wanted to create a strong sense of place in my work, a familiar but somewhat abstracted place and then to capture it when the light is just right.”
In 2014 she left Cape Cod and relocated to coastal Connecticut in order to return closer to New York because she missed the urban energy and diversity. Her work shifted to cityscapes and coastal architecture.
Now she’s painting full time and loving it. She has a beautiful studio at Metro Art Studios in Bridgeport and is an exhibiting member of several art organizations; Silvermine Art Center, Ridgefield Guild of Artists, Westport Artists Collective, as well as teaching painting with the palette knife at the Rowayton Art Center.
She is represented by Alofft Gallery in Litchfield CT.