Suzi Dennis will show her “Colorful World” in the Lobby Gallery June 2-29, with an artist reception June 3, 5-7pm.
A self-taught working artist, Suzi Dennis works out of her studio in her hometown of Hot Springs on beautiful Lake Hamilton. When she began drawing and painting around age 10, she never dreamed that she would some day make her living from her art.
“It didn’t come overnight, and it’s nothing I’ve spent my life working toward,” she said. “It was a gradual thing.” She spent 25 years working “real” jobs and raising children; it wasn’t until she was over 40 years old that the process began to lead her where she is today. Through the years, she was faithful to continue to sketch, draw, and write, recording thoughts and images in journals and sketchbooks.
“One day I said to myself, ‘I’m ready to paint again’, and with no thought of it being anything other than just that. I had to get it out,” Suzi said. After 15 years of traveling to art fairs, she returned to nursing for three years. She officially retired in April 2012 and is now back in her studio full time.
A mixed media artist who loves layers, her focus at this time is painting paper, making and using paper tape, using these and up-cycled materials to create handmade journals and collages. Suzi also teaches workshops online, and in her studio, as well as teaching with Art & Sould Retreat Workshops in Oregon, Missouri, and Virginia.