SUSAN RECELY
Painting a New Landscape
Susan Recely grew up in an artistic environment and her father, a commercial artist, would take
her on outings to museums and galleries. On one trip, in a creative moment of bliss, he said to
her, “Just look.” This type of gentle nurturing and the encouragement she felt to explore the arts
helped shape her imaginative young mind.
Susan went on to graduate from CSUS with a Master’s Degree in painting and taught art to kindergarten through high school students with the Folsom Cordova Unified School District for 25
years until retiring in 2006. Her personal style focuses on painting landscapes and she has sought
to capture the essence of nature and the mood of landscapes while painting in locales all around
the world. Throughout her career, Susan has continued to study the style of Plein Air painting, a
French term for “open air” or on-site paintings and has studied in various locations such as Alaska,
Canada, Paris, Giverny and scenic Californian towns. Most recently, she studied at Plein Air painting workshops in Lake Tahoe and Yosemite led by Greg Kondos, who is considered a master of
contemporary landscape art.
Along with Kondos, she cites Claude Monet as an influence and says while studying at the School
of Impressionism in France, she “was moved by Monet’s large paintings of water lilies with his
dancing brushstrokes and luminescent color.” As part of her own creative process, Susan employs
a four stage process of a double primary color pallete. To do this, she applies opaque oil paint in
many layers that allow underlying layers to show through. The specialized technique results in different intensities in color that change in different lighting and from different angles.
Susan has been teaching students how to paint scenes from nature at the Hart Senior Center since
2007 and has gained a strong following of students. She enjoys teaching older adults because
she sees the positive impact painting can have on their lives. Her students may come in feeling
stressed or with “aches and pains” and leave feeling “happiness and bliss.” This powerful change
she can see in the demeanor of her students gives her joy and she is equally impressed with the
work they produce.
Susan has adopted the Impressionists style of painting, wherein the group of artists, such as Cezanne and Monet, supported each other and were able to accomplish more than was possible
if working alone. She creates a non-judgmental atmosphere and feels that she can help her students and in return, they help her, which makes all of their paintings and lives better. The camaraderie of her group is palpable upon entering the room, students work peacefully with other
students and are able to offer tips and constructive suggestions when needed. The class features
demonstrations and individual instruction from Susan. All levels are welcome and she believes
that “instead of telling them how to copy my paintings, I look at their paintings and
help them identify how to improve their own style and work and support them in what they are
good at.”
Occasionally, Susan organizes field trips to provide her students the opportunity to paint in nature. A group gathers outside of class time and travel to a scenic location where they paint together and receive instruction. In the past, she and her students have visited Lake Tahoe, Bogle
Vineyards, the American River and Mount Shasta. The picturesque surroundings allow students to
paint their own beautiful pictures in natural light and capture their own interpretation of the landscape around them. She really enjoys teaching her students outside of the classroom and is delighted to be able to share the experience of painting outdoors with others.
Susan’s kind nature, gentle approach and fabulous talent make her an excellent teacher. While
studying at UC Davis under iconic American painter Wayne Thiebaud, Susan was extremely impressed to find that despite his national recognition and immense talent, he was incredibly humble and treated his students with respect. Susan also believes that Thiebaud “opened doors to
our perception of what we could do.” This attitude towards nurturing the creativity in others is
apparent in the way Susan shares her own skill and in the way she recognizes the talent that her
students possess. Susan’s award-winning work has been exhibited in many solo and group shows
and she has painted murals at various elementary schools in our region. Come paint a beautiful
landscape of your own with Susan!