Susan Blair Truex

To Susan Truex, art can be articulated very simply: Art is “the breath [she] breathes.” Susan has been a professional painter for thirty-two years and continues to evolve in her artistry. As she says, she sees her work as a “vehicle to explore the human condition and emotional connections,” always allowing for a natural evolution in the process of her paintings. Susan says that her paintings “[have their] own ideas about how [they] should develop” and empowering them to lead helps her find their message. Susan’s use of women, animals, birds and children in her work allows for, as she says, “a soft delivery of more sobering issues,” enabling the painting to speak for itself and the viewers to interpret for themselves.

Susan began drawing and painting at an early age, taking the liberty to explore form and color. In her early training, Susan practiced plein air painting, the action of painting landscapes directly outdoors to capture the fleeting moments, the light, atmosphere and color of the day. The discipline and urgency involved taught Susan to uncover the essence of the work, which is the place from which she begins a piece.

Painting, as Susan says, “using both realism and abstraction is what dissolves the boundaries between what we see and what we imagine,” finding depth in the liminal and meaning in the details. Her two-dimensional stories, she hopes, will offer the viewer “something to think about, something to positively respond to.” For Susan, painting, in a way, takes on the characteristics of language, and she sees her work as “the powerful voice of a quiet woman.” Always listening and always responding to the life around her.

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See the rest of Susan’s work at Gallery 202, in downtown Franklin, or online at gallery202art.com.