Bound Together
Mixed Media on cradled board
16 x 16 inches




“Bound Together” came about as an exploration of colors, texture and multiple images revealed or buried under many layers of paint.  After adding washi and handmade paper as well as some ancient Japanese characters, I later learned the characters related to the concept of the mind and body, not as separate entities, but bound as one.  We strive to experience peace and tranquility as we live with good intentions in our thoughts and actions every day. 

Mystery of it All
Mixed Media on cradled board
16 x 16 inches




“Mystery of It All” is mainly an acrylic painting with collage elements. Water soluble and permanent ink pens, pencils, crayons and graphite are woven into the many layers created as the painting evolved. As with most of my abstract paintings, I had no preconceived notions when I began to apply marks with various drawing tools and paints. Images printed or painted on rice paper, typing and watercolor paper were randomly added to the surface over which opaque and transparent layers of paint were applied to incorporate them into the whole. With underlying layers and collage elements peeking through, the title seemed apt in trying to capture what it all means.


SUZANNE MCCRARY

Contemporary Painter

After many years as a palette knife oil painter creating landscapes and seascapes, I am now working increasingly in an abstract format. Much of this shift from representational painting to a more abstract approach stems from a deep desire to explore what cannot be seen but only felt, a spontaneity in creating the unknown.

The challenge of working more intuitively in abstracts lends a sense of ambiguity that can produce unexpected results. At the outset I often don’t have a fixed image in mind. It’s a different creative process where brushes often take a back seat and mark-making is unplanned, where paint is pushed, scraped, sanded, added and subtracted to reveal history in underlying layers in bold and subtle ways. As each painting evolves, the imagery goes through constant change until the tensions of color, value and composition feel right.

Through trial and experimentation, I strive to find new dimensions of expression that are authentic and unique, that come from my inner self and is guided by a spirit of free discovery. Each viewer’s subjective interpretation of my paintings is filtered through their own unique experiences. For me, these different reactions to my personal visual expression is one of the joys of creating abstract art.