"American Quilt"
Artist: Suzanne Hetzel
Location: Building 7 - 33-35 N. Broadway Unibanc (View Map)
Contact:
Ezl-rdr@execpc.com
www.dragonflywatercolors.com
630-882-8201
Painting with aqueous media is an unpredictable, joyous experience. Each time I put my brush to the paper or canvas, I experience freedom and control simultaneously. While many think that aqueous media are unforgiving, I find them to be an inspirational process.
The subject matter I choose is whatever inspires me at the time I open my palette. I could not be constrained by painting one specific thing – barns, flowers, whatever. There is too much beauty and interest in our world to limit the way we view it. I am particularly fascinated by how things may be similar and yet different. For this reason, I often paint groups; groups of fruit, groups of trees, groups of lampposts, groups of cornstalks, groups in general. By keeping my subject matter unlimited I am forced to continually hone my skills of drawing and composition. This challenge is one of the things that make me evolve artistically. In addition to varied subjects, I bring to my paintings the unique view I offer as an individual and as a woman. This is my channel for expression of emotion and individuality. You can see my passion in the splatters and sprays, my determination in the fine detail, my curiosity in the surface treatments, my sensitivity in the mixes and glazes. I am the painting.
Paintings must be the expression of myself at my highest capabilities in the moment I am creating. Inspiration comes from real life, but occasionally I work from photographs that I may take. I compose from my head, occasionally sketching but usually just “diving in.” I thrive on viewing the world from a different point of view – seeing things as maybe they had not been seen before, or seeing things that usually go unnoticed. The greatest expression of myself is through color. My palette has only one “brown,” no black, no white, no grey. It is with these limitations that I am forced to use the richness of color, and not fall into the dullness of shadows.
I use only the finest materials; pigments from America and England, paper from France and Italy. These materials are intended to endure indefinitely if properly cared for. I want the owners of my paintings to be able to enjoy them for as long as they wish to have them.
American Quilt
While walking through an antique show at the DuPage County Fair Grounds, I saw a very old, drab quilt. I reflected on the maker; someone who had pieced together the scraps of her life to make this piece of craft and art and life. All the stitching was done by hand around each circle. Tiny stitches no doubt done by kerosene lamp or candlelight. The stitching, placement, and varied use of color were exquisite. The quilt changed for me from drab to beautiful. My painting, American Quilt, honors the woman who made the quilt. It offers up a contemporary presentation of the circles of life and its diversity of color. The painting, while appearing to be limitless in color, is really only 5 pigments arranged and mixed to create the rainbow I saw after studying the quilt. I used limited color because I wanted to impose upon myself some limit as the quilt creator must have experienced. Women find time to bring beauty to our world even in difficult times and circumstances. Like the quilt, I hope my painting conveys this message.
