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Thoughtful, candid, and funny, artist Susannah Martin is a pleasure to talk with. A New Yorker living in Germany for the last 30 years, Susannah has the skill of a master artist and the approach of a political activist. Her work is exhibited internationally, has been featured in numerous publications, and is routinely banned from social media.
We talk about, Brexit, gummy bears, death worms, Angela Merkel, and art, lots of art and painting . . .
Here are the main points of what we talk about:
- Studio real estate,
- Ideas for paintings,
- Photoshoots,
- Finding models,
- Direction,
- Working from life,
- Different paint mediums,
- Grisailles,
- Masking,
- Palette,
- Lighting,
- Set painting,
- Studio soundtrack,
- Alla prima painting,
- Experimentation,
- Contemporary nudes,
- Hypersexualized society,
- Censorship,
- Disconnection from nature,
- Mortality,
- Consumer culture,
- Consciousness,
- Porn industry,
- Lucian Freud,
- Humanity,
- Refugees,
- Underlying themes,
- Getting into galleries,
- Art business,
- Prices,
- European art market,
- Reformation,
- Pivotal paintings,
- Big art dreams,
- Anxiety,
- Self-esteem,
- Social Media,
To find out more about Susannah and her work go to:
Most moving painting to make . . .
Susannah Martin – Gorge
Referenced in the podcast . . .
Susannah Martin – Bavaria
Paint . . .
Chinese Orange by Sennelier
Rose Matter by Winsor and Newton
Susannah’s looking glass contraption . . .
“Magnifying glass shoved into a cardboard tube with photo stuck in the other end to look at enlarged details. Very high-tech. Made it in about 3 minutes 20 years ago and have been using it ever since.”
Time Peace . . .
Robert Fritz’s book – Identity
https://www.amazon.com/Identity-Robert-Fritz/dp/0998186201/
Thanks for listening!
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Theme music by The Argyle Pimps. Thanks lads.
Great paintings.It’s sad people can be so uncomfortable with the image of the human body.The paintings show how people actually look not some idealized photoshopped image.We need more art like this to make people separate nudity and sexuality.We need to begin to accept the human body as something beautiful,not just a sexual object.Great interview.
Thanks George, I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Thank you George for listening and for your lovely comment. I am especially glad to hear that my figures feel real to you, not contrived or polished in some form. That is very important to me. I don´t expect that we can ever completely separate the nude form from sexuality nor should we but I do believe in carving out a place where the painted nude can speak about larger universal issues of humanity. Great to hear from you.
Terrific interview! So happy to have discovered this podcast and really enjoyed hearing Susannah talk about her process. In the past year or so I have gotten back to painting the figure using my own photographs as reference. I so agree with the desire to capture true expressions and body language without stiffness. Great to hear how she approaches that. I will keep at it.
That’s great Ellen. I’m glad you are enjoying the podcast.
That’s great Ellen. I’m glad you are enjoying the podcast.