I’m a native Californian. I grew up in Southern California and have lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for the last thirty eight years.

A lot of my work is inspired by landscape.

Many of my paintings begin by taking carefully composed photographs. I find having the structure of the photo-composition gives me a certain kind of freedom later on in the process that allows me to be more experimental – something that’s essential to my process.

My resin mixed media paintings incorporate elements of acrylic and oil paint, oil pastel, gold, silver, white gold or copper leaf with photography and layers of resin. The resin mixed media process makes it possible to re-create the shimmering sensation of light and movement reflecting off and through an object – whether it’s a bird or leaves on a tree branch. Working with gold or silver leaf and layers of paint and resin create an image that is both magical and seductive to the viewer. Through this process I’m able to freeze frame those visual moments that most capture us in nature while also creating depth.

I do most of my painting with gloved hands instead of using brushes. For me it’s much more direct and primal. I began working with digital media sixteen years ago. My interest grew out of working with digital paint and rotoscope on special effects for feature films. I started working with gold and silver leaf seven years ago. I got inspired from my appreciation for antique Chinese and Japanese screens. My mixed media pieces are a combination of old and new materials. The metallic powders that I paint with give my pieces an unpredictable radiance that varies according to the viewer’s perspective. So as you walk by one of my paintings you will see the colors change similar to how colors change in nature based on; different times of day or how the wind modifies the effect of sunlight on leaves and branches.

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Website
http://www.susangoldsmith.net