As if you needed reminding that Christmas is just around the corner! Nah, you have time for the Christmas stuff - Thanksgiving isn't even here yet! But time really is ticking for you to get over to either the Plymouth Coffee Bean or the St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Brighton to see those displays. I will be dismantling both collections on November 30th - whew! Who made those arrangements?? And then I will be helping to take down the Visual Arts Association of Livonia Exhibit

Why, yes! My art is in esteemed company. In the month of August, while my latest art exhibit is on display, the Michigan Shakespeare Festival is celebrating 25 years with performances of King Lear, Two Gentlemen of Verona and Cyrano de Bergerac at the Cherry Hill Village Theater. You have the rare opportunity to experience wonderful staging of one of the world's greatest playwrights and ponder over my stained glass inspired paintings at the same time! Special appreciation is

I am finally getting around to sharing some recent work with you! The oil painting at the right is one of my newest pieces. The painting shows a little angel statue, which stands as a monument in Bonaventure (meaning Good Fortune) Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia. Girl with the Upturned Shell was sculpted by John Walz. Pam DeCamp, a photographer, mentions a visit to this beautiful sculpture in a blogpost, "Clearly this person was loved by her family. The care in which the statue

The bright greens and temperatures in the 70's gives evidence that Michigan can finally say that spring has sprung! And with spring, the Visual Arts Association of Livonia, of which I am a member, always has a juried exhibit. The spring exhibit is held at the Bennett Civic Center Library Fine Arts Gallery, where I held my solo show in March, and was juried by Jean-Paul Aboudib, a notable local award winning artist and instructor (jeanpaul-art.com). Last night exhibit awards w

Arts for the Spirit is a program of rotating art exhibitions that has been implemented in the Beaumont Hospitals in Southeast Michigan. Its goal is "to provide a restorative atmosphere that renews the human spirit..." I am pleased to have twenty-four of my paintings selected to participate in the Beaumont Arts for the Spirit exhibit from April 19 until July 12. This collection will be displayed at Beaumont hospitals in Grosse Pointe, Trenton and Dearborn. Spring is trying rea

As you are reading this, Fusion of Light & Color: A Stained Glass Inspiration is being dismantled and boxed up! It was displayed throughout the month of March at the Bennett Civic Center Library in Livonia. What a great experience this has been - so thankful to the Livonia Arts Commission for featuring my artwork! I have highlighted a couple of photos from the exhibit and the artist reception in this little slideshow. On a Personal Note... I can't help but share that a little

What is your preferred atmosphere to work in? I love being in and painting in my studio. It's not large or fancy, but I have everything I need in there. I flip on the lights and Pandora, pour myself a cup of tea, set up my paints and get busy. I especially enjoy it when the weather outside is extreme. By extreme I mean a wind storm, snowstorm or pouring rain. The quietness of the snow falling and piling up creating a white blanket. Or the rain bursting from the sky to pound n

Snow is piled up outside and the wind bites at our cheeks, but inside my studio I experience the best of two worlds. It's warm and cozy with unlimited hot chocolate - that alone is great on a snowy day. The second part of the equation is that my wonderful husband filled the bird feeder just outside my window and being able to watch them and listen to their chirping has been so much fun! A beautiful cardinal came three days in a row, but mostly I see chickadees, robins, wrens

If you are one of those who makes New Year's resolutions, I have a great one for you to add to your list! Most adults would probably agree that being involved in creative activities is good for us. But let’s face it, some of us are drawn to our creative side more than others. Although there are many studies to indicate creative engagement is important in the growth and development of children, we don’t necessarily apply it to ourselves as adults. It has been proven that art b

It is definitely that time again - time to drag out the sketchbook, graph paper, ruler, gingerbread dough, oven mitts, frosting tips - you get the picture! And so that is why, when combined with a trip to South Carolina and another to New Jersey, I have not been in touch lately! This year I kept the gingerbread house idea simple. Originally, back in October, it was definitely not heading towards simple. I changed my mind and went with cozy and inviting; I had never tackled a

October and November have been surprisingly busy for me in the art arena! In addition to the Canton Fine Arts Exhibit and the Coffee Bean Exhibit, I also had a couple paintings in the Visual Arts Association of Livonia Fall Art Exhibit. The show, at the Jack E. Kirksey Livonia Community Recreation Center, went up in October with some excellent work represented by the members of the art organization. Initially, it seemed to me as if a recreation center would not be a particula

I began this project several months ago with an April deadline in mind; that time frame came and went, but sure enough, another deadline presented itself in the form of a group show at a Detroit gallery called The Annex at 333 Midland. Currently this piece, along with other excellent artwork submitted by the Detroit Society of Painters & Sculptors, will be displayed from September 28 through October 6. The gallery itself is interesting in that it is part of an industrial park

Busy, busy, busy!! Or should I say I've been fairly busy? I have been working hard to prepare for the second art fair of my career, which is only one week away! As you will recall the first was in Charleston. This time I will be setting up only about a half hour away in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It's one of the largest juried art fairs in the United States in that it combines four fairs into one. Truly you cannot see all the art in one day. It's a big deal and attracts a ton of pe

Check it out! I'm happy to report that both Dragoyle: Aniticipation and Kittygoyle: Study in Self-Control were juried into the Visual Arts Association of Livonia Spring Exhibit 2018! The display will be up throughout the month of June at the Livonia Arts Commission Fine Art Gallery. There is some excellent artwork in this show; if you are in the Livonia area, head over to the Bennett Civic Center Library (2nd floor) and see for yourself. The next art fair is right around the

My Charleston adventure has begun! As planned, the Flex was stuffed to the hilt complete with carrier on top. I found a My First Art Fair Checklist online from another art blog (thank you Moshe Mikanovsky!), checked everything off, added a bunch of my own things and off we went! The driving went without a hitch and here we are with a couple of days to enjoy the Charleston area. There are wharfs, boats, pelicans, antebellum mansions - a ton of tours to take and places to eat.

JS Aitken blogs about preparing for first art festival - the Charleston-Mt. Pleasant Art Festival and posts her new oil painting "Jasmi

Kittygoyle: Study in Self-Control (18x24" oil on canvas) is ready to be seen, as promised last week. This is part of a "gargoyle" series, in which gargoyles or architectural details find their way into a stained glass window to create a new narrative. Check out Frogoyle: Escape from Washington Cathedral as well as Dragoyle: Anticipation. I have been busy, busy, busy! Not only have I been up to my knees in oil paint and canvases, I also added a page to the website. Check out m

Oh yes! It's time! Aitken art is indeed leaving the studio and hitting the streets. The tent I purchased in December is now going to be put to good use at three scheduled juried art festivals. My debut into the summer art scene begins in Charleston, South Carolina, which may seem a bit random. Why so far away, you ask? It just so happens that I have three children living there - one being an artist herself, who is participating in the fair along with me (or am I along with he

Susan Aitken is creating a series of stained glass style oil paintings with gargoyles. Read more about gargoyles and her new work!

Happy Friday everyone! I was out of town this past week, visiting parents in New Jersey, and was able to put the final touches on two 8x10's - Crimson Pop (see March 29th blog) and this one. It seems to jump off the screen, doesn't it? It is really bright! I'm sure it's the use of the contrasting colors that's creating that effect. I am titling this Tangerine Joy because it seems pretty orange to me and kind of happy also. It is part of the 8 x 10" series I'm painting for tho