Following My Artist’s Heart

SUSAN CARMEN DUFFY

As an artist, I have a head full of swirling ideas. Some make it to fruition, some have rested safely in a journal detailing the designs or project, and some wait patiently (and sometimes not so patiently) in my busy brain. Being an avid observer in life often sparks more ideas.

In early 2020, I visited the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester, New York. The exhibit I was excited to see was Alphonse Mucha. His art nouveau work inspired me in a way that I cannot express with words. Mucha’s work has a beautiful illustrative quality to it. He has an admiration for all things feminine, and his detail, even in his print making is incredible.

I remember sitting for quite a length of time in front of some life size feminine figures that were created by a print making method called lithography. The detail was stunning! The color was soft, yet still vibrant, the intentional honor to the feminine stirred me. I studied the work shown and it felt as though I had a conversation with Mucha. In viewing the work for a great length of time, some questions were answered, some remain a mystery.

This experience marinated in me for the next few years. What I wanted to create felt like such a risk. Not only would the piece take a substantial amount of time, but I also don’t do a great deal of figurative work. Yet the piece I wanted to create required both.

Some projects just won’t stay resting in a journal. Some push on. As a working artist with a greeting card company, I feel the pressure to keep new images, new cards, and new items coming. It is an easy trap to fall into. A typical greeting card image is completed in less than three or four hours, this project would be much more.

A common theme throughout my work has been a passion for the four seasons. Living in upstate New York we have a lovely view of each season and the wonder that each brings. I have created several pieces devoted to this theme. The study of the seasons, how they feel, how they inspire, and the way the earth changes, inspires me.

As I mentioned, sometimes projects won’t remain patiently in a journal or my brain. One night, quite late, I pulled out a full-size sheet of my favorite watercolor paper. (Arches paper 30” x 24”) I got out a ruler, a yard stick, a water-soluble pencil, and summoned some courage. I was excited and afraid. I knew this project would challenge me and teach me.

Typically, I work very intuitively. I don’t pre-sketch or plan. I paint or create what is in my heart. I move through the piece instinctively; I finish when it feels complete. While on some level I did the same here, I began with a bit more structure. I wanted the spaces to be even, I wanted a top and bottom border. With that in mind, I laid out the beginning of my painting.

After I laid out the piece, I stared at it for quite some time. It was almost as if I was afraid to paint it, the growing desire to get started eventually won. I began with the borders and surrounding areas of the figures.

I balanced work on this project with work for my business. This piece was for me. I didn’t know if I would even share it with others. It was a piece that was a need for me and not necessarily something I would market.

The apprehension gave way to excitement quickly. I would go to bed thinking about it and wake up anxious to spend some time on it. I excitedly filled in most of the details surrounding the figures feeling good about the work. But then there were the women, they were just sitting there mostly untouched. Self-doubt decided to sit down at the easel with me and I was almost afraid to add details to the women.

I allowed this to steep in me for a few days. I found that I missed the project more than I was afraid of it. With that realization, I began working on the women. As I moved through the many layers of this painting, I felt empowered, and my excitement grew.

One hundred and four hours later, The Four Seasons was complete. I found the process to be a metaphor for the seasons. Winter stood quietly, subtle, yet encouraging. The idea was there, not ready to bloom yet. Spring planted solidly the idea, the hope, and the wanting. Summer was active and encouraging. The bloom was in reach. Autumn, my favorite season, a sense of completion, connection, and peace.

Thank you, Mr. Mucha for your magnificent work. You are an inspiration. This process taught me much -- mostly, to follow my heart.

Susan Carmen Duffy has created a deck of Affirmation Cards. To learn more about these beautiful reflections of positivity for your life, please read all about them in the January 2024 Issue of Zebra Ink Magazine.

Susan Carmen-Duffy

From my earliest memory, words and art supplies have been some of my most inspired and faithful companions. By the age of seven I was writing and illustrating my own magazine, replicating it on my gumby lightboard and asking my family to buy a copy.

As a mixed media artist, my style is often whimsical and full of color. I am inspired by the beauty of nature and pay special reverence to the feminine. Each medium in art has its strength, the wonder is revealed after the layers have been carefully applied on watercolor paper or canvas.

As a professional artist for over forty years, my award-winning work has been collected throughout the United States as well as Internationally. My writing has been published in several anthologies, and online zines. My business, Create Art 4 Good, and greeting card business, Greetings 4 Good not only share art, and facilitate workshops, but also pay it forward including a donation from every sale to a local charity.