Valley painter expresses faith through art

ROANOKE RAPIDS — Seeing is believing.

That’s the message behind the work of local painter Susan Watson, a

former school teacher who has turned her life-long passion for the

creative arts into a bold, brilliantly-colored outlet for spiritual and

religious expression.

A Roanoke Rapids native and graduate of the Univeristy of North

Carolina Chapel Hill, Watson moved back to her hometown in 1975,

married her high school sweetheart and began teaching at local schools.

After retiring from Manning Elementary a year and a half ago, following

two decades as the schools art teacher, Watson finally found the

opportunity to concentrate on personal work, something she had little

time for while teaching 750 students every week. “I taught clay

sculpture, print making, drawing and art appreciation. When I got home

I was just drained,” said Watson during a recent interview.

Watson said as she began exploring the world of painting last summer,

she lacked a firm idea of where her work was headed, but through

experimentation coupled with trial and error, she finally settled down

and discovered the style and themes that have come to dominate her

creative output. “Besides color, my driving force is my faith, which is

expressed in my art. A lot of my paintings are religious/Christian. I

am a disciple of Jesus and have a joy and love in my heart that is

expressed in my art work.”

One of Watson’s paintings, Yam Suph — which is Hebrew for the Sea of

Reeds — is an abstract representation of the Biblical tale of Moses

leading the Israelites out of Egypt. Bold strokes of white and red

represent pillars of cloud and fire which helped guide them through the

desert, while subtler bands of umber act as visual reminders of the

staff of Moses.

One of Watson’s larger pieces depicts the Nativity of Christ. Set among

a vibrant background of subtle blues, bright reds and greens, the

figures of Joseph, Mary and the infant Jesus are not immediately

discernible in the contrasting field of shapes, calling to mind the

cubist experiments of Pablo Picasso. “I don’t want anyone to walk up to

it and immediately see it,” commented Watson about the work. “I want

people to be thoughtful about their faith when they look at my art.”

Recently, Watson has completed a series of abstracts dealing with the

crucifixion of Jesus, a theme she recognizes as controversial and

potentially gruesome.

“One reason I do this in an abstract fashion is because so much of

Christianity is painful and unpleasant, in the sense that there was

blood involved, he died on the cross which was a horrible death … That

is so difficult for people to look at. I didn’t want it to be

offensive,” Watson stated, explaining that her work, with its bold

colors, shapes, and design elements, is meant to draw people toward God.

Watson said she has drawn artistic inspiration from artists as diverse

as Dutch post-impressionist Vincent Van Gogh and North Carolina native

Romare Bearden, famed for his painting and collage work depicting life

in the rural South. According to Watson, she has also been influenced

by the shapes of the stained glass windows in her church.

Though she is clearly enjoying the freedom she’s gained since her

retirement, it’s equally as evident that Watson cherishes the years she

spent introducing the world of art to her former students. “I just

loved seeing children think, be creative and produce art, and I miss

that a lot,” she stated with a hint of sadness.

Watson said she also learned a valuable lesson from her time in the

classroom. “Knowing when to stop working on a piece is hard. I used to

tell my students ‘You’re finished, it looks great. Don’t muddy it up by

doing too much. If you want to come back to it later you can.’ I’m

learning how to know when I’m finished.”

Having completed some 30 paintings, Watson has decided to share her

inspirational art with the community at large. The Halifax County Arts

Council will be host to some 30 pieces of her work from June 1-6. As

part of the Sip & See series, a reception will be held from 6 to 8

p.m., June 1. The event is open to the public. Her work can also been

seen at Riverside Mill in Weldon and the Blount-Bridgers House in

Tarboro. She will be represented in a show in the Mims Gallery at

Wesleyan College in Rocky Mount that will include work by fellow Valley

artists Tina Gregory and Jan Volz.

Though she’s progressed since her early experimental work, Watson said

she continues to learn and gain confidence. “I still have so much to

learn, about my subject matter and technique as an artist. How do you

show spiritual principals and lessons in paint as an artist? How do you

show the attributes of God? That’s what I’m still working on. That’s my

goal.”