Gogh'ing The Distance!

This painting has a whole other painting underneath – my first disaster. I analyzed it to death, so dead is where it stayed and I painted over the whole canvas for a new re-birth!! The image is Russell Valley, where I live. It has some of the prettiest scenery in the Sierras – a hidden jewel. Can you find the Blue bird ?

“Russell Valley Meadow” 24″ by 30″

xo Susie

This painting started as something completely different. As soon as I painted the background this was the vision that appeared; two birds and their own story. I doubt it would have worked as anything else… “Leaf Watching” 24″ by 36″

Today is the completion of the first week, and I’m addicted to this process. I fall asleep dreaming of the next image and wake up changing my mind a hundred times. My dirty dishes are piled high , laundry basket is overflowing, I’ve fallen asleep fully clothed and I couldn’t care less ! Oh No!!! OH YES

xo Susie

Today I slept in by mistake! Panic stations! I think I’m exhausted from all the excitement… I was able to do painting #9 though! I love colors and have a hard time keeping my palette in control, though I love to find how colors can play against each other and make a painting ‘dance’ a little. This is a view of Squaw Valley, California. “Squaw from Hidden Lake” 24″ by 18″.

xo Susie

Today is day 5, and through the week I’ve been reading van Gogh’s letters to his brother Theo. He was incredibly articulate and very sensetive to his environment. He seems mildly insecure (aren’t we all?) and I’ve been feeling bad that I called him a wimp. So today I painted some of his Blossoms in a still life; I think he just needed more hugs.

“Blossoms for Vincent” 24″ by 48″

xo Susie

Here’s painting #6; it’s a painted horse from Mexico that a friend gave me years ago. I’ve always loved how animated it is – a still life of someone else’s beautiful artwork. “Confetti Cavaillo” 18″ by 24″

I glanced at a picture this morning of two lovers dancing and I was struck by the space between them and how it held an amazing magnetic, dynamic, everchanging energy of its own. I was inspired to consider the space between between these two trees; ” The Lovers Dance” 3 ft by 4 ft.

xo Susie

Great Day today!! It’s a Pear! I just thought this pear was so beautiful and the closer I looked, the more I saw bright reds and oranges. “Suspended Pear.” This painting is 3ft by 4ft.

Click on the picture to enlarge it, the colors are worth it!

xo Susie

Here’s #2, a seascape at the beach in San Francisco down near where my step-daughter lives, “Seascape”. #3 and #4 are a pair; “Waiting for Spring.” Painting has me completely absorbed. It confirms my belief that we should do what we love, and a 14 hour day will pass full of joy and adventure. I have such a long list in my head of images that I want to celebrate and explore, and then I always see something new around every corner. My challenge today was to stay within limits of my color range (I love every color and always want to throw them ALL up !). I also enjoy the negative spaces between branches on a tree and all the shapes those spaces create (there’s a heart in there – can you find it?) I could spend a whole life just painting trees…


Click the images to view images with more detail

xo Susie

February 1st!!! It feels so great to come in to a real studio to paint – I love it. No problem getting started, I want to do this forever. It feels so right. This first painting is dedicated to Haiti entitled “Two hundred and fifty thousand souls all ascending at the same moment”  The size is 30″x48″. The photographs do not do justice to the colors. I wish I had the opportunity to do this one much larger – I think it would be spectacular.

Click the image to view it in greater detail

xo Susie

“It does’nt interest me how old you are. want to know if you will risk looking like a fool, for love, for your dream , for the adventure of being alive.”  Oriah Mountain Dreamer

 After seeing a large exhibition of paintings by Vincent van Gogh recently, I was inspired and challenged. Besides being an incredible artist, van Gogh is also known to have painted 75 paintings in 70 days. This seems like an incredible feat, and while I am sympathetic to the emotional and mental issues van Gogh dealt with, another side of me says he was in fact,  kind of a wimp.

He did not raise children, cook his own meals, pay a mortgage or his own bills. He was often moody and bad tempered and relied completely on the generosity of his brother Theo.

This said, I am challenging van Gogh’s legacy; I am determined to paint 40 paintings in 28 days, cook my own food, pay my own bills, maintain a positive spirit and not cut off my ear.

As a part a part of this project I am looking for sponsors who believe in my capacity to complete this challenge. The amount you sponsor will be applied to the purchase costs of a painting/ paintings that you select during or after February.

You can come by and visit at 10382 Donner Pass Rd suite #4 ( next to Riverside Studios in old town truckee near the roundabout ), Truckee CA to watch and cheer me on! It will be exciting! Look for updates at this website or go to the Facebook page for Susie Alexander Art to follow me daily through the month of February – it’s going to be exciting !

All artwork will be on sale during the month, and 10 % of all proceeds of this project will be donated to Tahoe Forest Hospital Cancer Center.

With your sponsorship I know I can do it !!!!
I look forward to hearing from you !

-Susie Alexander!

Susie is actively looking for sponsors for Gogh’ing The Distance! If you believe in her ability to pull off this challenge and would like to sponsor her effort, feel free to contact her at susiepaintbrush@hotmail.com. 10% of all pledges go to Tahoe Forest Hospital Cancer Center . Also , the first painting is dedicated to Haiti and 90% of the sale of this painting will be donated to Habitat for Humanity . Any sponsorship is appreciated.

Thank you for your support!