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Susan mixing and watercoloring on long table

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Some years ago we hosted a private showing of celebrity paintings by Drew (Broderic) Hill an artist in residence who has since moved on. He now goes by his given name Richard Hutchens. While at Infinity Studio he produced an amazing series of work. A good time was had by all in attendance. We enjoyed stimulating conversation, good food and excellent wine provided by Leonhardt Vineyard. Thanks to you who attended and especially to you sponsors for your interest and support.

"Painting For Health", originally presented in an interview with the Daily Press, is still an important concept to Susan. She is working on an interesting presentation on this subject. When it is finished it will be published here.

A new series of wildlife and flowers watercolors was under way while Susan was able to paint. They turned out nicely and will be added to the watercolors page in due cource.

On June 30, 2012, Infinity Studio hosted an opening for Briana Latrisse who is a visiting artist from New York, with Bernard Hoys and Alessandra Declario also displaying some of their pieces. The concept for this show was new for us. We opened ours doors and showed not only the finished art but also works in progress, which were being worked on while the visitors watched. Yes, we invited guests into a working artist’s studio.

Arrangements for this show started earlier in the year (2012) when we invited Briana to show her work and talent at Infinity Studio. She had the opportunity to show people how paintings are created, and to talk about the art creation process in general. Most people have never been inside an artist’s studio, much less have they been able to see an artist at work. She liked the idea so she agreed and we started to arrange for the show and work up an invitation list that she approved. The effect was wonderful and everyone had a good time and an interesting, informative experience too.

When Infinity Studio was started in 1977, Susan’s idea was to promote and execute the arts in as many ways as possible. She has had many different kinds of artists working in the studio, from Rashid Lanie, pianist/composer to Lenny Hoops, entertainer, painter and hula hoop artist extraordinaire. Local artists from Susan’s Emeritus Collage classes have shown their work along with new, up and coming artists.

You might wonder how this show concept – inviting people to come and watch art being created – developed. Susan had a long talk with one of Briana’s good friends who said that she has always wanted to paint. Her problem was that she could never get ‘what she saw in her head’ down in paint. The basic issue is insecurity.

Susan understands that insecurity, having experienced it in her youth. It was this same feeling that had persuaded her to stop painting altogether for 20 years. She could never paint what she wanted and did not understand what painting was all about. Still she knew that she was happiest when she had a brush in her hand.

Finally she decided to paint again. As she explains it “my total self seemed to flow out of the end of the brush”. It has taken a lifetime of training and painting for her to be able to now paint anything that she can conceive. But it took a lot of training in methods and materials, as well as years of study in philosophy along with self examination and introspection to even have an idea of how she could express herself through her painting.

Susan sometimes speaks of Arthur Miller, the author, who once said that the last freedom in the world is painting. To her this is so true. This is the freedom she wants to pass on to younger artists or older ones who are just beginning to peruse their artistic ambitions. This was the seed that lead to the June 30th show and exhibition.

This seed grew while Susan was musing on her journey from that frightened young woman, too insecure to even keep trying to paint, to a fully functional working artist. She realized that after going back to school for five years, at Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles, She had to go out on her own, determined to find out “WHAT IS AN ARTIST” and how does an artist create.

Those were the days of the old master teachers and studying with them was amazing.

Receiving her Master of Fine Art in painting and sculpture was only the beginning. The questions to be answered were “HOW DOES AN ARTIST THINK” and “WHAT IS ART?”

These questions have been pondered over and over again throughout the years and the best explanation that many have offered is that – “Art is what an artist creates”. So then – who is an artist?

It used to be that an artist was a person who had the talent to paint and draw and execute pieces of work that would stand the test of time. But today, everything has changed. Art no longer has to be real in any sense of the word. Art can be disappearing, can be conceptual, can be performance, can be digital, can look as if a child did it, can be empty, can be political, and so on and on.

So what is art? Opinions may vary but in Briana’s case her art is her refuge from the difficult, modern world – a place where she can go to express her innermost feelings in any way that she sees fit. She can paint, destroy the piece, sew it together again, and keep going.

In Susan’s case, her art is the background for life. She paints in such a way as to provide a setting for people to relax and look good in front of her paintings. She paints energy and creates a setting of calm and quiet through her art work. It took many years for Susan to work out her own ideas concerning painting.

She experimented with many materials – her concept was to mix anything that flowed and/or could be used with a brush or other tool, and mix everything on canvas and see what turned out. Like a Rorschach ink blot people go into their own perception and create their own images.

Her paintings have stood the test. They continue to have some sort of mystery about them, and give her a place to focus on, meditate upon, and see where her head is at, so to speak.
So now, with all this in mind, we are opening Infinity Studio to the public. Come and see what art is all about. Briana’s show was a huge success. She not only had her family in attendance, but also friends and some of the general public. Her father was over heard to say that he never really understood what she was doing and did not know how serious she was about painting. This show opened his eyes.

We are including some of the pictures taken of the after party which show Briana’s work along with some of the paintings of Drew Hill, who actually put Briana and Susan together. As you remember, Drew was an artist in residence in 2009 and created a totally new body of work – including some styles of painting that he never had contemplated in his entire life. He has been drawing and painting for his whole life but only for his own satisfaction. He is now turning professional under Susan’s guidance.

Alessandra Declario’s light box was also on display and Bernard Hoyes showed some of his Caribian work. He is currently preparing a “performance of his paintings” – a spiritual journey of revival, dance, poetry, music and painting all rolled into en evening never to be forgotten. This performance will take place at the Ford Theater, a part of the cultural center of Los Angeles, across from the Hollywood Bowl, on August 5, 2012. This performance will also be a first – a one of a kind, and should not be missed.

Susan’s idea is to create an open art center which can be viewed by all – to inspire people to create themselves in any form that they wish.

With the arts being taken out of schools people are turning into robots, unable to relate to the real world, and addicted to technology. They are losing their humanness. We will be filming instructional videos to help guide people into their own self-exploration. Drew and Susan were also creating a new, non- profit foundation – Infinity Foundation for the Arts, (IFA) which would have developed programs to help teach young students to express themselves though the arts. Although that foundation is unavailable there are other resources available, a a quick web search revieles, and we want to encourage young and older people to take back their souls by doing something creative.

Additionally we are still interested in seeing some studet works published here too. These are all exciting endeavors. Stay tuned and let's see what can be arranged.

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