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

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

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

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

The studio is bare. The storage is empty. Paintings are boxed up. The Flex is packed to the hilt - in fact, I am reduced to sitting with the prints box on my lap. What's going on? It's set-up day for the Birmingham Street Art Fair! Booths go up tonight and the fair will be in full swing tomorrow. Shain Park in Birmingham is a beautiful venue and the weather is supposed to be great. Looking for something to do this weekend? Check out all the art and food at Birmingham, and hav

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

Happy Spring! Now that it's official we need the weather to cooperate. Perhaps before Easter? At least do away with the patches of snow... At any rate, I thought we could celebrate with a new painting called Crimson Pop. It's another 8 x 10" oil painting, with the design wrapped around the edge. Enjoy! #SusanAitken #JSAitkenArt #JSAitkenArtblog #stainedglassoilpainting

It's always fun when something you have ordered arrives on your doorstep - isn't online ordering great? Well, yesterday's truck brought some frames - I thought it might be a good idea to offer a frame with my work, or at least to show what the painting looks like framed. So I ordered a few sizes. Understand that to frame or not to frame is personal choice if the canvases are painted on the sides, like mine are. The edges become an extension of the painting, and many collector

...Other paintings have more direct connections to my personal experiences and are more intentional. For example, Tranquil Garden is inspire

It's a rare person who doesn't love a beautiful flower - and they certainly abound in the wonderful world of nature. Very soon (March 20th, to be exact, if the calendar is to be trusted), we should start to see the beginnings of a fabulous season of bright greens, yellows, pinks, lavendars - a whole host of colors to remind us once again of the amazing cycle of life. A bit poetic, right? It is true, though, even if we don't articulate it; anyone who plods through a season of

A touch of spring for those of us who have seen too much white, not enough sun, and just need a little green! Spring is officially only fourteen days away... hmm. I guess we will have to see if nature agrees with the calendar. Since this wintery weather seems fairly persistent at the moment (at least in Michigan!), I thought I'd post this oil painting Crimson Field (18x24") to brighten your day! To see more paintings like this check out the View Paintings page on the website!