Sue Lyon Biography Continued:

...Lyon studied painting at the American Academy of Art in Chicago and is an active member of Chicago's 100 year-old Palette and Chisel Club.

Lyon's technique is to paint wet on wet to start and then wet on dry for her finishing touches. She occasionally thins her oils with mineral spirits to obtain a balance of scratchy brush work against thick opaque strokes for the lights. "My style is realistic with as much impressionistic color as possible. I like to combine wide brushes for sweeping strokes in the background with small, soft brushes for subtle details in my center of interest."

Her ideas come from the everyday objects that surround her such as stuffed animals, dolls or the occasional curious kitten playfully exploring her studio. "What I hope to accomplish is to convey the whimsical beauty I see around me as well as to make the viewer smile when they look at my work. When I started out as an artist, I struggled against my own more feminine tastes. I feared people would not take a painting of stuffed animals or dolls seriously. Once I overcame this self?consciousness, I was happy to find that what I enjoy looking at day after day also reaches others. Even when I'm painting fairly traditional things, my greatest joy is figuring out original ways of setting up the most common of still life objects so that they appear dynamic."

Susan Lyon lives in North Carolina with her husband, artist Scott Burdick, two dogs, five indoor and six outdoor cats. She moved there to escape the hectic pace of city life and to experience an entirely different part of the country. Surrounded by nature, Susan's studio allows her the space and privacy to paint and grow as an artist.

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