Susan Adams

painter and teacher

Résumé

Selected Juried Exhibitions

Watercolor West XXXIX National Juried Exhibition, Riverside Museum, Los Angeles, CA

National Association of Women Artists: Miriam Schorr Memorial Award for Works on Paper, New York, NY

National Watercolor Exhibition, New American Gallery, New York, Honorable Mention

Watercolor West XXX National Annual Exhibition, La Brea, CA

Pennsylvania Watercolor Society 20th International Juried Exhibition, Lancaster, PA

Hilton Head Art League national Juried Exhibition, Hilton Head Island, SC

Montana Watercolor Society 17th Annual National Exhibition, Bigfork, MT

Eastern Washington Watercolor Society National Exhibition, Richland, WA

Bedford Gallery Water+Color Juried Exhibition, Walnut Creek, CA

Marin County Fair, Fine Art Exhibit, San Rafael, CA First Place Award, Best in Class

Watercolor Assoc. of Sonoma County Aqua Areas Annual Juried Exhibition, People's Choice Award

California Watercolor Association Winter Exhibit, Third Place Award

Society of Western Artists Annual Exhibition, Academy of Art College Gallery, San Francisco, CA

San Bernardino Art Association Inland Exhibition XXXVI, San Bernardino, CA

Society of Western Artists National Open Competition, Merced, CA

Celebrate Agriculture with the Arts Madera Arts Council, Madera, CA First Place Award

Watercolor Assoc. of Sonoma County Aqua Areas Juried Watercolor Exhibition, Honorable Mention

Mother Lode National 33rd Annual Art Exhibition, Placerville, CA

Galleries

Lily Rock Gallery, Palm Springs, CA

New American Gallery, New York, NY

Bigfoot Gallery, Bigfoot, MT

Fairmont Gallery, Sonoma CA

San Bernardino Museum, San Bernardino CA

Lancaster Art Museum, Lancaster, PA

Blackhawk Gallery, Danville, CA

Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek, CA

Walter Greer Gallery, Hilton Head Island, SC

Riverside Gallery, LaBrea, CA

Academy of Art Gallery, San Francisco, CA

Sonoma county Museum, Santa Rosa, CA

Loanna Clark Gallery, Petaluma, CA

Gallery One, Petaluma CA

Pelican Gallery, Petaluma, CA

Associations and Affiliations

National Association of Women Artists

Watercolor West (Juried Member)

California Watercolor Association

Society of Western Artists

Watercolor Artists of Sonoma County

Cultural Arts Council of Sonoma County

Publications

The Best of Flower Painting, Kathryn Kipp, North Light Books, 1997

Festivals

Bellevue Festival of the Arts, Bellevue, WA

Southwst Arts Festival, Albuquerque, NM

San Diego Arts Festival, San Diego, CA

Sausalito Art Festival, Sausalito, CA

Saratoga Rotary Arts Festival, Saratoga, CA

La Jolla Festival of the Arts, La Jolla, CA

La Quinta Arts Festival, La Quinta CA

Mill Valley Arts Festival, Mill Valley, CA

Palo Alto Fine Arts Festival, Palo Alto, CA

Fine Art Santa Barbara, Santa BArbara, CA

Salute to the Arts, Town Square, Sonoma CA

Marin Art Festival, Civic Center Lagoon, San Rafael, CA

Los Altos Rotary Fine Art Show, Los Altos, CA Mayor's Choice Award

International ArtExpo San Francisco San Francisco, CA

Capitola Arts Festival, Capitola, CA

Saramento Fine Arts Festival, Sacramento, CA

Napa Valley Mustard Festival, Napa, CA

Palm Springs Art in the Village, Palm Springs, CA

Celebration of Craftswomen, San Franciso, CA

ARTrails, Sonoma County Cultural Arts Open Studio Tour, 12 years

Education

Sonoma State University, Bachelor of Arts, Music

Penn State University, University Park PA, English Literature

Private Study

Chama School/Henry Hensche colorist tradition: John Robichaud

Plein Painters of America Scottsdale School: Frank LaLumia, Mary DeLoyht-Arendt and Raleigh McKinney

Intensive Studies Seminar, Taos NM: Skip Lawrence, Katherine Lui, Fran Larsen, Christopher Schink and Alex Powers

Selected Additional Private Study

John Ebersberger, Don Andrews, Jeanne Carbonetti, John Salminen, Peggi Kroll-Roberts, Camille Przewodek, Jean Grastorf, Arne Westerman, Jane Hofstetter, George James and others

Bio

Susan Adams grew up in Fleetwood, Pennsylvania in a home filled with art and music. Her grandmother was a painter and her mother a musician. Susan studied English literature at Penn State University and holds a BA degree in Music from Sonoma State University. Motivated by curiosity, confidence and a steadfast optimism, Adams' journey has been a varied one. She has performed in several rock bands and also played piano in her own jazz trio. She was also a licensed drywall contractor.

Before becoming a full time fine artist, Adams spent many years as an animator for several nationally recognized companies, among them: Broderbund Software, Mattel, Nickelodeon and others. She gained recognition for her award winning work.

Susan's watercolor paintings have won numerous awards including the Miriam Schorr Award for works on paper from the National Association of Women Artists, New York. She is a juried member of Watercolor West. Her work has been exhibited in many national and international exhibitions including Pennsylvania Watercolor Society, Hilton Head Art League, Montana Watercolor Society, Eastern Washington Watercolor Society, Society of Western Artists, National Watercolor Exhibiton, New American Gallery, and many others. Her work has been featured in The Best of Flower Painting, North Light Books. Susan lives in the Petaluma CA countryside, where she maintains her studio . .

and teaches classes and workshops locally and abroad, and in her 100 year old barn.

Artist's Statement

"As the sun colors flowers, so does art color life."—John Lubbock

Painting is about seeing. I try to capture both the quality of light and also the essence of whatever I paint. It is an exciting pursuit to observe the color of light and experience the way it affects the color of objects. With every plane change there is a color change. As for my mission as a painter, my goal is to communicate the inherent beauty in even the most mundane image—the essence of as thing. With figures, it’s the humanity that unifies ordinary people; with landscape, the spirit that is present in nature; with still life, the quite beauty of an object. It is a journey that begins with the fundamentals. Mastering the fundamentals allows for effortless expression. It is a joyful journey.