We recently connected with Susan Greenstein and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Susan, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
Purpose is something that evolves over time. It changes from year to year or decade to decade as I add both skills and experiences. In my journey as an artist, finding purpose, has really been about figuring out how to make many parts fit together, like a puzzle. I have always loved painting and drawing and playing with materials in all different combinations, but bringing it all to a place that had purpose took a long time and my path there was not linear, but a serpentine one.
Although I loved creating artwork as early as I can remember, it was in middle school when I discovered that artmaking was a powerful voice. Despite the fact that I was just a pre-teen, I committed myself to developing my skills more seriously. I had a long way to go, even if at my first junior high art exhibit the father of a life-long friend claimed that he had “discovered” me.
Being an extremely shy child and adolescent, making art was my solace, my safe place where I could make anything happen. I was very lucky to go to the High School of Art & Design. There I met other young artists, some whom I still paint with and who continue to be a big part of my art community to this day.
My art education continued at Pratt Institute where in addition to the techniques of the craft, I was educated on some very important life lessons about becoming an artist. I learned that when it comes down to it, it is your own individual path that you choose. While it is important to learn from others as much as you can-by seeing a lot of artwork, talking to other artists and reading about notable artists- deciding how to bring all of those influences into your practice can only come from oneself and moving forward is always up to you. Bottom line, it is and will always be up to me to move myself forward in my development as an artist
At Pratt Institute an education class opened the window into the world of teaching. After graduating with a BFA, I went on to get a Masters in art education from Queens College, subsequently teaching middle school art for a few years. However, with very little real experience and guidance, I was lost. I decided that teaching was not for me and I moved into free-lance illustration for more than a decade.
As my professional life changed, so did my personal life. I married, became a mother and when my three-year-old daughter entered day care I acknowledged that I had never truly given up the idea of teaching, I was ready to re-visit it. This time I found an amazing program, Studio in a School where I was surrounded by very well-established artists and art educators. These extremely talented individuals, opened my mind to finding my way to help me develop the tools to pass along my love of artmaking to young children. At Studio, I developed my philosophy of teaching which centered around process-based experiences for children It was very inspiring to see so many children find their passion through artmaking. It also fed my own work.
My teaching career continued at Brooklyn Friends School, where I was able to further develop and expand my teaching skills and once again found my work influenced by that of my students. To this day artmaking and teaching art have remained intertwined.
At around the same time that I began my tenure at Studio in a School, I began to hone in on my love for painting with great intensity, discovering my love for plein air painting and for working with watercolors. This passion has never left me. While I have explored a variety of ways that I like to work, for instance, the never-ending possibilities of printmaking always remains an important part of my art journey, plein air painting is at a different level. It takes me the closest to expressing the way my mind works and is still, after so many years, extremely fulfilling and full of surprises.
As I said earlier, my path has not been linear. Some chapters happened simultaneously, others overlapped. 15 years ago, I reached another significant point when I joined 440 Gallery in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Through this very supportive art community, I continue to grow as an artist by being exposed to some amazingly talented artists.
In recent years, I discovered that I although I enjoyed teaching art to children for many years, I also love teaching classes for adults.
And so, the link between teaching and artmaking are the latest stop on my serpentine journey to finding purpose.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
The combination of art-making and teaching allow me to express both my passion in art and my fascination with the world around me. As I said in an earlier response, in my experience they are intertwined. I am particularly interested in using my observations of my surroundings as a stepping off point in my work. Sometimes it might be a sliver of light falling on a floor or the play between an interior and exterior view. Sometimes it is just the way a tree finds its gesture or how clouds seem to balance their weight on what is below. It all begins with close observation,
but then the painting begins to speak to me and it becomes more about allowing the painting to develop.
I love painting still life objects and interiors, but my most favorite painting experiences are painting outdoors (plein air painting). This can be sights, smells or sounds. The way the sun or a cool breeze feels, hearing snippets of conversation, cars honking, birds singing or the leaves rustle all impact my work as much as the actual subject that I am painting. I also love to draw. Several years ago I began a series of daily ink drawings which was born out of the lockdown due to Covid 19. It consists of a number of sub-series within it. The first was documenting objects in my home, some recent acquisitions, and others from my childhood. As the lockdown became a longer term reality, I followed this with drawings of my friends’ and family’s treasures. This gave me a way of “visiting” when that was not a possibility. My third chapter was of museum objects. I was able to travel all over the world from my home and view collections of artwork from just about any museum. I plan to continue this series. For my entire career, I have loved to draw interior spaces – cafes, restaurants, museums, libraries, other peoples’ homes, or even the insides of a subway car. This has been a passion for almost as long as I have been an artist. I often take commissions to paint
watercolors or ink drawings of special places in peoples’ lives. In doing so I join them in celebrating their milestones be they moving in or out of a beloved home, or remembering the place where they grew up. One person commissioned me to paint a water color of the restaurant where she and her husband met and another had me do an ink drawing of the lab where he had earned his PhD as a gift for his retiring mentor.
When I am not making art, I am teaching art in various venues. I am currently teaching printmaking and watercolor classes to children and adults at The Art Annex in Park Slope, Brooklyn. I am very excited to be joining the Winslow Art Center in Washington to teach online courses. Additionally I have run several workshops for NYC Urban Sketchers, most recently at the New York Public Library in midtown Manhattan, for Washburn Studios in Saugerties, NY and I team teach private plein air and online classes in New York City.
For the past 15 years I have been a member of 440 Gallery in Park Slope Brooklyn where I just had my 8 th solo show. I recently joined Artist Equity as well. In addition to group shows in and around NYC, I sell work on an ongoing basis at Gallery 369, the dedicated art space of Collier west. When I am not painting or teaching, I love to travel with my husband Phil, painter and photographer. My biggest challenge on these trips is fitting all of my art supplies in my luggage!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Three most important qualities, skills and/or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey A quality that has been crucial in my progression as an artist over the years has been learning to believe in myself. While there were days when I felt very positive both about both my work and what I would be able to accomplish going forward, there were many occasions when self-doubt was the dominant voice in my head.
While the self-doubt can still sometimes linger in the background, I am now able to acknowledge that it is just one of the challenges of my journey and furthermore, and perhaps more importantly, I recognize it as a temporary state.
It’s vital for me to just show up, whether I am feeling doubtful or confident about my work. During my worst struggles and battles, I find that there is usually something positive that I’ve gained that I am able to apply to my next attempt.
As I have worked more, and developed my rhythm, the less self-doubt has dominated my process. As a result, I have become more confident, not just my abilities, but in my power to overcome any obstacles that present themselves along the way.
I have found it very important to make time to see other artists’ work. This doesn’t only apply to work that really resonates with me, but to work that I might not particularly enjoy or understand. In the case of the latter, I do my best to stay open and allow the work to wash over me. Over the years, I have been influenced by both the most unexpected places and the most unexpected works of art. And when I question what I am responding to when viewing work that I do not particularly like, I always learn more about myself.
Perhaps one of the qualities that has helped me the most in my progression as an artist is generosity. The more I have shared with other artists, the more it comes back around. Developing a supportive art community is very much about sharing, by visiting other artists’ studios, giving helpful feedback, sharing vital information about shows, residencies etc. In my experience being generous is contagious and it is often being reciprocated in ways that I never
expected. I have been lucky enough to be able to be a member of a collective gallery. The very nature of this type of gallery really pushes people to share and support one another. As a result I have connected and collaborate with my gallery-mates in a variety of ways.
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
Although neither of my parents were trained artists, each had an intrinsic connection to art. While we did not have money for many extravagances, each of my parents always considered art important enough to have around us. Growing up we had prints of Georgio Morandi , Diego Rivera, Rockwell Kent, Picasso, Braque, Cezanne and Van Gogh lining our walls. All of these paintings had a profound effect upon me. I remember studying each for a long time, although I did not realize then how important the influence of these artists would have on me as I was growing up.
As a child my mother often took me to visit MOMA, both fostering my interest in art and educating me about it. This created a special bond between us and fortunately, we lived in Astoria, Queens, a quick subway trip to the museum, so these field trips were frequent. In her spare time, she loved to visit thrift shops and search out objects and textiles from around the world. She had an amazing eye for finding special items.
My father was a voracious reader. He often read about different artists, internalizing the information that he learned. As a Merchant Marine, before he married my mother, he had traveled the world and as a result a world had collected assortment of artisanal souvenirs.
Between each of my parents keepsakes, our house filled with many beautiful objects. I am always looking for patterns within the things I observe and I am not surprised that my parents aesthetics have made their way into many of the paintings and drawing I create.
My older sister was the first one to show a strong interest and ability in art. As she moved into her teenage years, her work and abilities matured. She cleared the path for me in many ways, giving me a window into what might come next. As I saw her work progress, I knew I wanted to go in the same direction.
In addition to fostering my early love for art, my parents were extremely enthusiastic and supportive in both my early journey into visual arts and later when I attended Pratt Institute. This not only helped me find my way as an artist, but it encouraged me to believe in myself and take a lot of chances.
My parents were not only impactful, they were instrumental in my success. I can’t imagine how much more difficult it would have been without knowing that they were firmly in my court and there for me whenever it was needed.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://susangreenstein.com/
- Instagram: Instagram: susangreensteinart
- Facebook: FB Susan Greenstein
- Other: sgreenstein60@gmail.com
