Artists are not successful without influences from their environment and people around them; we cannot create in a bubble very easily.  I have been an artist all of my life, but I have also been exposed to my grandmother’s figurative oil paintings, my mother’s watercolour landscapes, my father’s engineering drawings, my brother’s cartoon drawings, and many other artists in my life as a young girl.

As a teenager, I had Kevin Bice to thank for telling our art class “…talent means nothing without drive…”, something I’ve never forgotten.  As an adult, I have to thank Michael Kohn, and John Leonetti, for their individually brilliant and influential techniques in using “light” to transform their subjects.

I feel lucky to have known so many individuals in my life who have altered, shaped, transformed, and grown my creative energy over the years.

Comments and suggestions are always welcome.

Susan E. Tanton.