Artworks featured artist for the month of June: Susie Shipman

||| FROM B.J. ARNOLD for ORCAS ISLAND ARTWORKS |||

The Orcas Island Artworks Featured Artist during the month of June is Susie Shipman, a multi-talented artist who has recently been exploring the world of oil painting. She has captured the islands beauty with her petite paintings now on display at the Artworks Gallery, in Olga.

“Twenty-five years ago, I began selling my hand-bound leather sketchbooks and journals at the Artworks. I have made thousands of books and personally filled dozens of them with my daily inspirations. A few years ago, I expanded my drawings from my sketchbooks to block-print cards.

“I am a multimedia artist, with a BFA degree in architectural ceramics. I put myself through school working for jewelers. I’ve worked in many mediums, from photography to clay to glassblowing and casting to wood carving and blacksmithing — but I had not yet tried my hand at oil painting. This winter, my friend Marguerite Greening invited me to oil paint with her. For the past six months, we have met weekly, and these paintings are my results.

“The scenes are from the Island I love and the places here that I want to know more intimately. Spending more time in observation, I fell in love with the clouds, the light, the space, all the colors of winter, and the views I see while driving by. I stop and ask myself, “What did I see?”

“Practicing the art of Contemplative Photography for the past 10 years has sharpened my eye for composition, but painting gives me more time to listen and really see. These petite paintings, which are the size of my journal pages, allow me to expand and share with the viewer the way I see the world. The island landscape and my constant curiosity feed my inspiration for these intimate explorations in oil.”

The Artworks is open daily from 10 to 5. www.orcasartworks.com.