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Suzanne Clark
It was with her drawing of a robin at age seven, that Suzanne Clark began her career in art. She was surprised and delighted that the result actually looked like a real robin! This first success with birds launched her on a unique art path. Throughout her career, she has incorporated birds and feathers in many of her drawings and paintings.
Her art education began at the University of Hartford Art School in Connecticut where she majored in painting and received awards for “General Excellence” during her two years there. Suzanne then decided to continue her education at the Boston Museum School of Fine Arts. While there, she majored in Fine Arts Painting and was awarded several scholarships. In addition to the regular painting program, she gained extensive training in “Old Masters” techniques and painting restoration. She completed four years of work at the Museum School. earning a diploma “ with Distinction” in painting. Returning to the University of Hartford Art School for yet another year of study, she graduated with a B.F.A. Cum Laude in graphic design.
As a result of her volunteer work with a raptor rehabilitation organization at Shelburne Farms (OFES), Suzanne has had the privileged opportunity of coming face to face with many of these magnificent birds in their aviaries. These birds cannot be released into the wild because they can no longer survive independently due to their various injuries. Instead, they have become feathered ambassadors while educating the general public about what it truly means to live in the wild. Her close observations and interactions, along with her husband’s excellent reference photos, have inspired Suzanne to create a new series of individual bird portraits. The birds’ strong survival instincts and abilities juxtaposed with their delicate and ethereal beauty captivates Suzanne. In turn, she strives to capture their wild and intriguing primitive nature… the essence of a free and independent spirit radiates from each of her special birds. “Even though birds primarily exist only in the wild, they are more than generic wildlife to me. They are very much a part of our world, but in some respects, not of it. Their “lightness of being” symbolizes them as creatures transcending the ordinary qualities of earthly life. But birds are more than spiritual icons to me. I seek to portray each bird’s uniqueness. They are individuals with their own idiosyncrasies…as are we.”
Over the past thirty-some years, she has created illustrations and book jackets for publishers such as Houghton Mifflin, Athenaeum, and Beaufort Books. She was also the recipient of several project commissions for the Franklin Mint. In addition, she has completed several portrait commissions and her work resides in many private collections.
Now that her children are grown, Suzanne devotes a greater portion of her time to artistic pursuits. She resides in Essex Junction, Vermont with her husband Mark and 2 devoted cats.
She has exhibited (and won awards) in numerous state and national shows including:
- American Artists Professional League, NYC -54th Grand National Exhibition
- Knickerbocker Artists, NYC
- The Allied Artists of America, Inc., NYC
- Catherine Lorillard Wolf Art Club, NYC
- Washington & Jefferson College, PA
- Wintonbury Art League, West Hartford, CT
- Slater Memorial Museum, Norwich, CT -Annual Connecticut Artists Exhibition
- Greene Art Gallery, Guilford, CT
- Shoreline Alliance for the Arts, Guilford, CT
- Mystic Art Association, Mystic, CT