“In New England, if you don’t paint summer (or autumn, spring – even winter), it’s gone for another year. The weather, light and palette constantly change, which keeps me on my toes. Waking up to a fresh snow and blue sky motivates me want to paint as much, if not more, than a summer day out on the water. There is so much natural beauty here, it’s hard not to want to capture it.”
BIO
Professional artist Susan Bartlett Rice earned her BA in Studio Art and Art History from the University of Vermont, followed by further studies at the California College of Arts and Crafts and the Rhode Island School of Design. Her oil paintings are autobiographical and reflect the contrasts, challenges and comforts of living year-round on the Maine coast.
Rice’s modern work reflects a time almost gone by. Through her paintings of local architecture, the working waterfront and family farming, she colorfully represents long-standing traditions in contemporary times. Her paintings have been exhibited and collected nationally.
“I enjoy painting in my own small town over and over. I immediately notice when someone re-shingles their roof or paints their house, because I have painted the same places from different angles so many times. Since change is inevitable, I like to capture places before they are gone or made different.”
My current work follows in real time the change of seasons and the people and places around me. I am most interested in color and composition in all my work. The winters here are particularly long, and as a result, are productive for painting. My winter body of work has been primarily large-scale paintings of bare-branched trees, most of which were visible from my house or studio. In the warmer seasons, almost any subject matter is fair game; the chickens in my yard, lobstering gear on a dock or radishes from the garden.
I have always been inspired by local architecture and it’s “signs of life”- window shades, power lines and rooftop antennas. I also paint in the woods with no signs of people at all. My hope is that my work looks like it was painted in my own time, but captures the places and traditions that make my home of Maine “Maine.” -Susan