Artist Statement

Suzanne Frazier:   Contemplative Artist

​

Art is a vehicle for exploring the exterior and interior landscape of our existence on this planet.

​

Viewing the world from a meditative practice, I call myself a Contemplative Artist. To me, contemplative art is the product of creative expression rising from the pure joy of creating, grounded in a meditative connection to the radiance and perfection of spirit known only through one’s experience of being fully human.

​

During a contemplative experience one does not observe anything specific but rather a feeling emerges from the meditation. Likewise, I choose to create work that does not refer to any specific location or time. 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.

​

The 2015-2020 Art Series is called “Boketto”, a Japanese word for the concept of gazing vacantly into the distance without thinking. 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.