About The Artist

Susan J. Harris, born in Bristol, Virginia in 1952, has been a resident of North Carolina since 1971 and calls North Carolina home. She is currently based out of the Greater Piedmont area where she resides with her husband, John, and close to their two grown children. For many years Susan worked in the corporate world, raised and home-educated her two children and cared for her aging parents. In 2004 she decided it was time to pursue her childhood dream and began painting full-time. Her art education includes academic instruction, private study and mentoring under a professional artist, and independent study in various media such as stained glass design and construction, pottery, etc. She continues to broaden her art knowledge and experience as opportunity permits. Her background in art education and working with multimedia have provided Susan with a broad spectrum of understanding and appreciation for all aspects of art enabling her to serve as a juror for fine art exhibitions and on judge’s panels for multi-grade art fairs. Although she has produced artwork in numerous mediums, her preference is acrylic mixed media abstraction. She is an accomplished and internationally published abstract expressionist painter and maintains gallery representation. Her artwork has exhibited in solo, national juried and group exhibitions in museums and galleries across the state of North Carolina. Susan’s fine art can be found in private and commercial collections throughout the US, Canada and Europe. ARTIST STATEMENT I paint intuitively from the heart, letting what's on the inside spill out onto the canvas. This translates into a painting full of emotion and thought. My intuitive paintings consist of multiple layers of deep color and rich textures inspired by faith; centered around themes of healing, joy and restoration. My current body of minimalist work, inspired by the calming effect of elemental form and structure, touches that desire within me to pull away from the clutter and chaos of the world and embrace simplicity. ‘Less is more’ expresses this artistic approach where form, texture and color are pitted against empty space. In 2011, I noticed circles had found their way onto most of my artwork so I took an introspective look to analyze why they kept appearing. For me, circles represent commitment and loyalty. I concluded that painting does, indeed, have a tendency to reveal who I truly am--as an individual and as an artist. The circles in my artwork represent my loyalty to remain true to myself and my commitment to paint from the heart. My paintings incorporate at least one circle, maybe more, and may be found in the painting itself or on an outer edge, pronounced or subtly embedded.