Susan E. Budash
Susan Budash was born in Chicago in 1949 and currently resides in the Niagara Region of New York State. At a very young age, Susan displayed a talent in visual expression, with a particular fondness for rendering images of trees. Her parents, recognizing her talent, enrolled her in three years of private instruction with Jack Simmerling, the accomplished Chicago landmark water colorist. Majoring in art during high school resulted in Susan being awarded an Illinois State Scholastic Fine Arts Award. Following high school graduation, Susan continued oil painting, while employed in the computer industry, married and raised a daughter. In 1990 she enrolled at the State University of New York at Buffalo, earning a BFA in Printmaking. Furthering her studies, Susan graduated with an MA in Contemporary Art History in 1997. Susan paints Landscapes, Figurative/Portraiture and Still Life genre, with her Still Life compositions comprising her signature work. Many of her pigments are hand-ground and her mediums comprise ingredients based on artist’s notes translated from 16th and 17th Century manuscripts.
My studying Modern Art History and further applying that knowledge in creating art, with conventional and non-conventional materials was stimulating and enjoyable, but it left me feeling unfulfilled and unchallenged as an artist. Following graduation I was provided an opportunity to twice visit Italy and see its magnificent art collection. The genesis of this esthetic experience instilled in me a quest not only to return to Traditional Painting, but also to actively seek out the archival methods and materials used by the Old Masters and apply them to my own creative expression. In so doing, I’ve discovered my creativevoice.