Susan Savastuk has always been curiously attracted to pointillism and the mid-1880s artists who achieved stunning works by placing small specks of paint on a canvas to create new color, depth, and form. Seurat, Pissarro, Signac, and Van Gogh are some of her favorites. Van Gogh modified the technique by using larger brush marks compared to the small dots of his predecessors. Susan enjoys painting the very small details in her photo-realistic works, and the measured, meticulous method used in pointillism transfers well to the portrait work you see in her exhibit. Stand back and let your eyes do the color-mixing.

Susan’s first art class took place in a display window of a men’s clothing store. The teacher was the store’s display director, her father. There, she learned an appreciation for composition and color schemes by picking out neckties to complement the shirts and suits that would adorn the mannequins posing in the display windows. Unaware, at the time, that she was setting a foundation for her future life as an artist. Before moving to Bloomington, she dabbled and doodled but never dreamed she would or could become a painter. She has now been painting professionally since 2017, using oils in a photo-realistic style. She has exhibited regionally in multiple group and individual shows and has won various local art awards. Her local art affiliations are with Upland Plein Air, Bloomington Watercolor Society, and the Art Alliance of Greater Bloomington. She is a retired registered nurse and a Veteran, living in Bloomington with her partner Glorianne, their dog Cur-Be, and their cat Tuxie.