Contemplative Art

g specific but rather a feeling emerges from the meditation. I choose instead to invite the viewer into my meditation of my collected emotional responses from residing for forty-five years in Colorado. Each painting lives in its own place and time. It breathes on it’s own, free from a particular association, reflecting back to the viewer a new way of seeing. The painting changes as the viewer breathes in detail, subtleties of shape, and nuance of color. Then the painting breathes back to the viewer. A relationship ensues. The painting process begins with heavy application of oil paint with a pallet knife to create texture. After the layer of thick paint dries and hardens, I begin the next layer, painting the contemplated image. Color and texture are the predominate features of my work, especially creating unique hues to reveal a particular mood. After applying untold layers of paint to create unique colors, my interpretation of my heart-centered experience arrives on the canvas. Art is a vehicle for exploring the exterior and interior landscape of our existence on this planet. Using images that are familiar from the environment to express in a non-verbal manner my life experience, I invite you to gaze, without labels, into my shared contemplation. Suzanne Frazier integrates a BFA degree in Studio Arts from the University of Colorado with a BA degree in Philosophy from Lake Erie College to create a philosophical/meditative approach to art making. In September 2015, Suzanne published, Contemplative Art, a book describing her meditative painting process and definition for contemplative art amid images of her cloud paintings. As a working artist since 1990, Suzanne teaches weekly oil pastel drawing and water-based oil-painting classes at her studio in Longmont, CO. She also facilitates spiritual journey contemplative art retreats. Her work is in private collections in the United States, Canada, Europe and Japan.