Susan Schuler
(American)
Biography
In 1980, Susan Schuler started the business Nautical Image, Ltd. After studying the specs of boat beds, she patented a bedding system which met the comfort needs of the boater. As the company developed, she began working with the boat manufacturer, customers and designers on interiors to create a livelier and more comfortable environment on board. This creative experience of fabric, texture, color, and small spaces was a catalyst for her to pursue her life dream of painting.
In 1990, she sold Nautical Image and began her career in painting and pastels, creating primarily representational subject matter. As her work evolved, she became drawn to the energy of action painters, particularly the abstract expressionists of the late 1940-50s. Searching for guidance in the transition from the representational to the abstract art, she enrolled at the Art Academy of Cincinnati in 1998 and studied painting with Jack Meanwell, Kim Krause, and Stewart Goldman.
Susan Schuler's current work is influenced by her travels spanning the globe to such places as Cambodia, China, India, Myanmar, and Peru. Schuler creates rich textures to her abstract paintings by imbedding pieces of fabric, paper and other found objects collected during her journeys.
"Color, form and texture are used to convey the language of my mind on canvas," says Schuler. "Thick paint and raised surfaces signify the connectedness of the spirit with the tangible world. These paintings are meditations on how the simple moments of beauty and time connect me with the inner spirit of creativity."