The Possibility Before the First Mark
The blank canvas still excites Susan N. McCollough. In her Gulf Shores, Alabama, studio, she begins with the freedom of inner feeling, working through movement, light, color, and the relationship between positive and negative space until the painting speaks to her.
That openness gives her work its expansive presence. Large canvases become fields of encounter, where a powerful gesture can meet a quiet passage and an unexpected color can redirect the eye. Susan sometimes works on three or four paintings at once, allowing her creative energy room to move.
A Language of Power and Longing
In Wildfire, warm orange, rust, and yellow mingle with pale blue and curving black marks. The surface feels animated by opposing impulses: gathering and dispersing, rising and returning. Abstract 2020 brings a sharper pulse, with red diagonals and checkerboard details entering a bold conversation with black and cream.
The diptych Plexus I & II extends that dialogue across two panels. Broad gray and white forms sweep through dark shapes, while yellow and ochre lend warmth to the composition’s shifting spaces. The scale invites an encounter that can feel almost bodily, drawing the viewer into its rhythms.
Fine Art editor Victor Forbes named Susan’s distinctive language “Susanism,” describing connections across her paintings and a theme between power and longing. The idea speaks to the emotional continuity of a practice that welcomes both vibrant and monochromatic color.
A Life Devoted to Making
Born in the Bronx and raised in Dothan, Alabama, from the age of six, Susan earned a degree in theater and art at the University of Alabama. Her continuing studies have included painting, sculpture, Old Masters techniques, and figurative drawing. She works across oils, acrylics, clay, drawing materials, watercolor, and mixed media.
Her exhibition life spans four continents. ArtTour International honored her as Artist of the Year in 2017, and her creative journey became the subject of an Art Titans documentary. Alongside her own practice, she has supported opportunities for other artists through the Susan Nomberg McCollough Fine Arts Initiative at the University of Alabama.
Through all of this, the impulse remains wonderfully direct. Susan paints for the love of it, returning to the canvas with the curiosity to discover what comes next. Her paintings share that excitement with us, opening a space where feeling can grow into form.
Contact the artist: susannmccolloughart.media
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