Artist Statement

Susan Brooks

As an artist I am fascinated with the human countenance.  I have lived in Africa, Europe, and the U.S., and I love painting people of various cultures. The study of the effects of light and color on my subjects are an endless source of inspiration for me. I have developed a unique style of painting with oil pastels that results in striking portraits that glow with dramatic light, various textures, and complementary color contrasts. 

 For subject matter, I am constantly taking photos, and I sometimes sketch from life.  I work with oil pastels on a textured surface of mat board or pastel paper, which allows me to build up many layers of color with a thick, buttery, texture in some areas, while leaving other areas thin, allowing the background colors and the texture of the surface to show.

Often I choose a dark color of paper or board for the background because the oil pastels tend to be intense in hue and light in value.  This results in dramatic lighting effects, with the colors glowing against the dark background. 

 In the beginning, the portraits have to be worked in reverse, looking like an old photo negative as I work with a light color on a dark surface to draw outlines and establish proportions.  The dark surface also pushes me to build up many layers of color, building up skin tones until the portrait begins to emerge from the background almost like a relief sculpture emerging from a flat stone.  For me, working with oil pastels is the best of both worlds, allowing for painterly textures and colors combined with expressive mark-making.