Susanne Langlois
BIO
Susanne is a Kingston based artist whose paintings are fresh and vibrant, expressive yet peaceful. She has been painting for over 25 years. She currently works in three distinct styles: abstract, still life botanicals and contemporary landscape featuring wind turbines. Susanne has exhibited her work in many group and solo shows throughout Ontario. She is a board member of the Organization of Kingston Women Artists (OKWA) and is represented locally by the Kingston Glass Studio and Gallery. Her paintings have won prizes in both the Kingston Arts Council Annual Juried Exhibition (Hughes Downey prize for 3rd place, abstract work) and the Kingston School of Art (Honorable Mention, floral work).
Says Langlois: “Over the past couple of years I have had 2 significant observations about my practice: One is that now more than ever one of the most important parts of my work is making connections with people through my art. I value these connections to a great degree and feel that they are part of my life’s purpose. The other is the re-affirmation that when I paint and create, it is grounding and meditative for me. This certainly makes it enjoyable to paint. Using paint is both work and play for me. It presents me with many choices and then there are spontaneous occurrences. It is by nature a ‘flow’. I let myself be taken away by the happy accidents that occur while painting. This ensures that what I am expressing is seen and felt in the finished product. Not only does it take faith, it also gives me faith to continue to do what I do.”
Artist Statement
I have been painting white flowers for many years and I keep returning to the calla lily. It offers so many appealing elements to me as a painter: they are strong yet delicate, soft yet structural, feminine and masculine, classic and modern. I felt that representing these flowers, which I see as so beautiful, was for me the perfect way to explore white pigments. I use acrylic paints both on traditional substrates and more recently on upcycled denim jackets...so I am exploring how they are different in terms of process and result. Both honour the subject and the paint/pigments and I enjoy the way they relate to one another.
