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Sally Sutton

I have grown up with Monet, Van Gogh, Cézanne, Bonnard, Gauguin, and Munch. As a child I would get out the large heavy book of paintings and spend hours going through it until I was living in visions of great works of art. I was especially attracted to Impressionism and wondered about effects of light and color. When I attempted my first oil painting of my cat Kiki at the age of nine, I used an impressionistic style, and with the help of my mother, who taught art, I succeeded in producing quite a good likeness. I also remember painting my sister and me running through green fields with a storm looming in the background, as if we were trying to get home before it rained. I learned at an early age to put my feelings and emotions in a painting to create an atmosphere of a particular time and place.

Recently my work has been gravitating more towards Impressionism and bordering at times on Expressionism and abstraction. I am passionate about bold brushstrokes and thicker paint application. I enjoy the challenge of capturing light and experimenting with richer and brighter color combinations, contrasting them with deep shadows. Much of my inspiration comes from local landscapes in rural Chatham County where I live, and from my travels. Also, I recently completed a series of abstracts based on a water theme.

My paintings express all that I am. I paint my feelings of excitement about a place, see mystery in the shadows or perhaps feel the warmth of a sunny day. I am compelled to paint a scene in the way that it affects me. Many of my paintings have an urgency about them in style while some are languid and relaxed. Just as my emotions change, so does the canvas.

Her work is in domestic and international collections including SAS Institute, GTE, Duke University Medical Center, UNC Hospital, Cone Health Alamance Regional Hospital, GlaxoSmithKline Inc., Tokyo American Club, Northern Telecom Japan, Inc., Nippon Telephone, as well as private collections throughout the country.