Marshfield resident Susan Abbott received her MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art and has worked as a professional artist since that time. Her show in the Central Vermont Medical Center lobby gallery represents work done in Paris and in Provence.
Susan’s still life and landscape paintings are inspired by a sense of place, whether the back roads of New England, quays of Paris, or the lavender fields of Provence. Travels for both painting inspiration and teaching have taken her, accompanied by her sketchbook and French easel, all over the world.
“Susan Abbott’s paintings are visually rich, completely changing the atmosphere of CVMC’s lobby,” stated Judy Tartaglia, President and CEO. “I think many people walking through our lobby will be captivated by these paintings.”
Abbott returns to the same hamlet in the Luberon Mountains of southern France every summer to teach and paint. For her, Provence is a special place, “a delight to all the senses.” She loves the spontaneity and challenge of trying to capture the light and color of Provenceen plein air (in the open air). Abbott visits Paris almost as frequently, both to teach sketchbook and art history workshops, and to explore the streets and museums of her favorite city.
She has exhibited at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Contemporary Art Center of Virginia, Museum of Technology, Hood College, and the Baltimore Museum of Art. Her painting was featured in the show “Objects of Personal Significance”, which toured museums around the United States. She has had numerous one person shows of her large-scale watercolor still life paintings and oil landscapes. She has been a recipient of a Maryland Art Council “Individual Artist Award” and a Vermont Arts Council “Creation Grant”. Her work has been featured in numerous publications and on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Abbott has received creation grants from the Vermont Arts Council and numerous private and public painting commissions, including the Art of Action project. Work created for that project was inspired by the social, cultural and political issues affecting the future of Vermont. Susan was one of ten artists commissioned from three hundred applicants. The exhibit traveled throughout Vermont.
The art critic for the Washington Post commented about Susan Abbott’s painting, “There simply aren’t many watercolorists in America who can match her level of expertise. What makes her painting so interesting, however, is the peculiar tension between the dazzling display of skill and the underlying idea.”
In addition to her career as an exhibiting painter, Ms. Abbott conducts art workshops in France, Italy, Spain, India, and sites in the United States. Susan’s painting is represented in Vermont by the West Branch Gallery in Stowe and Gallery North Star in GraftonParis/Provence will hang in the CVMC gallery through January 18, 2013.
