Suzanne Stevens
is a lifelong artist. She was born into a creative family
and was always encouraged to pursue her art. Raised in Miami,
Florida, she spent most of her time outside, developing a
deep love for the natural world. Suzanne continued her studies
in art at Florida State University, graduating with honors
in painting and drawing. She later received a Masters in Art
at Goddard College, Vermont.
Suzanne teaches art in her home studio on Lake Smith and at
the Contemporary Art Center of Virginia. Her expertise is
figure drawing and landscape painting. She works in charcoals,
pastels, oils, and watercolors. Suzanne's figurative work
is usually done with a model. She uses the same model repeatedly,
allowing different aspects to appear. Sometimes the models
look like themselves and at other times they are totally transformed.
Suzanne enjoys letting things "happen" creatively.
Her landscapes are created on location in series. Some of
her favorite haunts are wildlife refuges, swamps, peach groves,
vineyards, countrysides, gardens, mountains, and oceans. When
she travels, she always paints. She has worked mainly with
pastel on black paper, as she loves the glowing color and
spontaneity of pastel. Recently, she has also begun to work
more imaginatively, especially with oils. Her latest series
is entitled, "Earth Magic." She is excited about
developing this theme using all media.
Suzanne is deeply concerned about the destruction and pollution
of the world and hopes that her work will help people appreciate
and take better care of our earth. A portion of all of her
art sales goes to environmental and humanitarian causes.