Susan Grote : watercolors

Susan Grote

Watercolors

Susan Grote was born in the Bay Area, received an M.F.A. in Design for the Theatre from CSU Fullerton, and returned to San Francisco in 1984 to work as a theatrical designer and teacher. Her costume designs have been seen at many local theatres and colleges, including TheatreWorks and SRT. She has studied watercolor locally with Vesta Kirby and Barbara Jackson.

"A friend once described my work in the theatre as 'making clothes for imaginary people'. In watercolor, I am interested in the drama of everyday objects, which reveals itself to me in the process of painting. Many years ago, I learned that there are stars which cannot be seen if you look directly at them; you have to focus on something more obvious, and then you can catch just a glimpse of them out of the corner of your eye. When I am painting, if I focus on the technical problems -- color, value, shape, etc. -- I sometimes catch a glimpse of something previously unseen: two pears fall in love, a bell pepper intimidates its fellow, a pumpkin awaits the knife.

"Art can actually improve your vision."

Her studio is in the Sunset district of San Francisco.
She exhibits with the Sunset Artists Society, SF Open Studios, and other SF groups
email Susan