Studio Visit with Susan Corner

showing with the Phyllis Serota Studio Group 
at the Arts Centre at Cedar Hill, May 18-30
Opening Reception: May 18,  6:30 - 8pm.
​

Susan Corner turned the family room of her home into a studio space 14 years ago. The walls and storage areas of her studio overflow with two decades of creative endeavour. South facing windows and a “sun-hole” in the ceiling deliver natural light.
Painting is how I come to understand the world,” Susan says, “and make meaning in my life.” Putting paint on canvas provides the artist with a poetic medium to express her ideas and emotions. ​

Woods at Yellow Point, mixed media on canvas, 12 x 12 in, 2016

Girl with Bike, mixed media on canvas, 12 x 12 in, 2015

The artist is much inspired by the sea and West Coast flora and fauna. Woods at Yellow Point (above left) recalls an annual February get-away to the popular rustic retreat. At that time of year the old growth forest is damp and fragrant with winter rains. Springy moss is underfoot and lichen clings to the towering trees. Various techniques bring to life the sensual pleasures of a forest walk. Rich reds, greens and golds enliven repeated motifs; drips and splashes add textural interest. A golden background light shimmers through the vertical tree trunks.

For Susan, the bright colours and energetic shapes in Girl with Bike (above right) convey the joyful freedom of childhood adventures. It was painted at the Metchosin International School of the Arts (MISSA) in 2015. Called Mixed Media Mayhem, instructor Jean Pederson encouraged participants to make marks using a variety of methods. Using stencils, dripping, spraying, glazing, textural mediums and gels, opened up new horizons for the artist.“MISSA was a great experience for me,” she recalls.
“Being around other artists is energizing and enlightening in so many ways.” ​

Malecon Dreams, mixed media on canvas, 20 x 16, 2015

My Tears are Floating on the Wind, mixed media on canvas, 2015

A trip to Cuba in 2015 spawned Malecon Dreams (above left). The Malecon district of Havana is an ocean front boulevard lined with historic buildings, many in disrepair. The painting recalls a photograph taken of a woman at her balcony window in the area. The atmospheric artwork drifts between the tumble down decay of urban Havana and a dream like remembrance of happier heydays. Raked patterns on the painted surface add a tumble-down texture of wear and tear. Warm blues and sepia tones emanate summer warmth and sandy beaches.

My Tears are Floating on the Wind (above right) followed a series of personal losses in the artist’s life. On a sad anniversary, Susan went for a walk on a blustery day. While seated on a bench, she sensed the buffeting wind moving through her wall of grief. “I felt the tears being wiped from my face,” she recalls, “and floating away on the rushing wind.” This experience brought a sense of relief and return to life - a  letting go of grief. To convey this breakthrough, the artist painted dynamic bands of ascending colour combined with lots of airborne material. Drips, splashes and loose splotches of colour add a joyous windswept chaos to the composition.

Evidence of Activity, mixed media on canvas, 24 x 24 in, 2015

Into the quietness I hear, mixed media, 30 x 24 in, 2017

The Mojave National Preserve is located in the California desert near Los Angeles. Like many visitors, Susan imagined a stark landscape devoid of life. She was delighted to discover active bird and animal life, desert flowers and vegetation. Evidence of Activity (above left) presents a sculpted landscape in warm earth tones, topped with billowing clouds and blue sky. Drips and splatters of paint zing from earth to sky, suggesting the lively scuttle of lizards, buzzing bees, and flitting birds. ​

Susan saw this beautiful tree in a sun drenched field on Mayne Island. She has painted this scene four or five times, each time challenged by arranging a lone tree in a landscape. Seeking feedback, she took Into the Quietness I Hear to the Phyllis Serota Studio Group. Someone suggested putting the painting at the foot of her bed, and viewing it with fresh eyes in the morning. “When I woke up in the morning and looked,” she says, “phthalo blue/green popped into my head.” Using blue shades for the background forest and lightening the sky creating symmetry and balance. ​

Susan has been part of the Phyllis Serota Studio Group for 21 years. Both Susan and Phyllis graduated from UVic with a BFA in 1979. These days, Susan is busy with work and family, so she appreciates the balance of creative activity. “l love life, the complexity and challenges it brings,” she says. “I find it all so interesting.” The act of painting gives Susan many opportunities to engage with her adventurous life and process all the details. ​

​Artists in attendance at the Arts Centre opening May 18.
Back row left: Linda Maasch, Katherine Farris, Susan Corner, Linda Lange
Front row: Judy Kujundzic, Betsy Tumasonis, Phyllis Serota (absent Karen Whyte)

                       Below: Paintings by members of the Phyllis Serota Studio Group in the Arts Centre exhibition

Phyllis Serota, Pears Blues, oil on canvas, 24x30 in, 2017

Judy Kujundzic, Soul Passage, acrylic on archival paper, 18x24 in, 2017.

Linda Maasch, Blues and Oranges, acrylic on canvas

Katherine Farris, Sibelius' Fifth, acrylic on canvas, 36x36 in, 2016

Karen Whyte, Early Morning Island View Beach I, acrylic on canvas

Betsy Tumasonis, Isfahan, acrylic on canvas, 40x30 in, 2017

Linda Lange, Hanoi Greens, acrylic on canvas, 36x24, 2016

Web Design, Content and Photo of the artist by Kate Cino
​
Kate previewed arts events for 18 years at Boulevard magazine. 
She has a History in Art degree & 
Public Relations certificate from the University of Victoria

This website and its content is copyright of Art Openings, 2009. 
​All rights reserved.
Written permission is required for reproduction of photos or text. 
​kate-cino@shaw.ca  250 598-4009

---