susan tyler
Centerville, Texas
I live with my partner on 40 acres of beautiful rolling savannah near Centerville, Texas.
Message
Five Galveston women and I bought this property (Cuvee) twenty years ago as a weekend getaway and hurricane refuge. At the time, we were all from the medical field, we all had dogs and we were all in Galveston. In addition to my day job at UTMB, I was busy starting up my art gallery and studio on PostOffice Street in Galveston. On top of our busy Galveston lives, we six friends embraced the work of sculpting Cuvee into the perfect getaway. It wasn't long before the hours-long drive up to Cuvee started to wear on us. As the months and years dragged on, one by one of the original owners bowed out, finding the commitment too much. In the end, I was the only one left standing.
I decided that, rather than leave Cuvee, I would sell my Galveston gallery and open a studio/gallery up here in the woods. That wasn't an easy decision. I love Galveston--the culture, the history, the marine atmosphere, the artist community and, of course, my friends. I'm sure I will never completely leave Galveston. On the other hand, ten years on, I am exquisitely happy living up here with my partner, Dee, and our furry creatures.
I'm telling you so much about the land because Cuvee's influence is a big part of what gives me the mental space to create and paint. Over the years, I've come to understand that I struggle creatively when I am tired or anxious about something. Meditation helps my head space, but a huge part of it is this beautiful gift of Cuvee. This land--gallery and home--wouldn't have come together without the love, attention and other gifts of one or another of the original six friends. And I want to thank Madeline, in particular. This is a special place, and I feel grateful to have built this part of my life around it.
--Susan
Statement
I am not alone in feeling that art is the very heart and soul of who I am. I work in graphite, watercolor, casein, gouache, and acrylic, but my favorite medium is oil. Of all the choices, oil is a wonderful rich, luxurious medium.
I paint to create a mood interpreting the wonders of Mother Nature:
- the chiaroscuro effect of a brilliant sun creating intense shadows,
- fog that creeps into the harbor bringing a hush to the scene, and
- nocturnal and dusk scenes are always fun to create soft, subtle mood or a mystery of the imagination.
Back in the 1960s, I studied at Sam Houston with wonderful instructors: Harry Ahysen, Stanley Lee, Charles Pebworth, and Lois Streeter. Harry Ahysen, in particular, had a big influence on my early painting. I worked for him as a student, painting the backgrounds on his huge battleship paintings that would in 1965 be hung on all of the Flagship Hotel's floors in Galveston. Unfortunately, the Flagship hotel and pier was destroyed by Hurricane Ike in 2008. Perhaps worst of all, to my mind, all of those paintings were lost in the storm.
While my formal training as an artist came at Sam Houston State University, I am a life-long learner. I actively study the works of masters such as Sargent, Cassatt, and Monet, and often sit with and absorb the creative choices evident in the paintings of many others. From time to time, I have worked with and looked for guidance from mentors such as Thomas Jefferson Kitts.