Susan is both artist and educator. She has been painting, drawing and creating for as long as she can remember. Her work is in private collections throughout the U.S., Europe and Australia. Her teaching approach respects and encourages individual styles. She credits 15 years of teaching elementary school art with helping her develop the ability to simplify concepts and to give her students the confidence and freedom to translate what they see onto paper.

Susan is both a painter and sculptor whose work inspires smiles and serenity and is continually praised for the feeling of well-being it evokes. The view is invited to step into her work and enjoy the rhythm of the dance, the serenity of the landscape of the good cheer among a group of friends relaxing.

A Unique Painting Experience Awaits You in Tuscany

Your days will be divided between ‘at home’ days when you can paint around the farmhouse and estate, and ‘away’ days when you can mine the glories of Tuscany for your canvas.

“At Home”

Painting themes on the estate include vineyards, olive groves, flower gardens, glorious roses, the rustic winery and olive mill, unrestored ruins, chestnut forests and majestic cypress trees. Vignettes abound for small studies . . . pots overflowing the lemon trees, roses tumbling over a patched brick wall, or pottery perched above an indoor wood oven. You may catch Edo, the shepherd, tending is flock on the hillsides or be inspired by the church tower on the hillside.

“Away”

• Excursions outside the estate are chosen with the painter’s eye in mind, for instance:
• A country villa with its sweet, traditional garden and crumbling walls, enhanced by lunch in the vine-covered outdoor dining area;
• Enchanting hilltowns with colorful markets and a slow-paced ambience centered on the piazza;
• The jewel city of Lucca, its famous walls, narrow cobblestone streets and iron scroll work decorating buildings and lampposts.

Other Activities

Predinner aperitivi and antipasti under the leafy pergola provide time for friendly and helpful sharing of the day’s painting. One evening you’ll enjoy a Puccini concert in Lucca, the composer’s hometown, at a Romanesque church with excavated Roman ruins. You’ll have a guided tour of Lucca to drink in Italian culture and also time to explore its shopping opportunities around the Roman amphitheater.

Sue’s workshop offers you wonderful food for the body as well as the soul. Meals are prepared in the Tuscan style, and you’ll enjoy making your own pizza on our traditional pizza night. A cooking class by the Abbondanza Toscana Italian chef introduces you to the artistry behind the delicious meals you’ll enjoy at Selva and at local restaurants. Everyone gets to roll up their sleeves for a hands-on experience even if your ‘hands-on’ is only around a glass of wine!

Web Site

To view more of Sue’s work, visit her web site at www.highstreetgallery.com.