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Susan Bolen |
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The artist states; “Living so close to Yosemite, I have availed myself of it's romantic scenes of rock and water. I am also exceedingly fond of the area surrounding El Portal, whose name means the gate, or doorway, and is surrounded by the national forest. I have developed a sense of place and connection to the land, and that is the motivation behind all my landscapes. I enjoy focusing on bold colors, subtle patterns, and unique shapes.”
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Copyright © Stellar Gallery |
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California
artist Susan Manter-Bolen lives and works in El Portal California, just
outside Yosemite National Park. Susan works in acrylic paint on a
variety of surfaces, including wood, canvas, paper, fabric/clothing, and
sometimes mirrors and glass. Her mixed-media works include collage,
acrylic jewels, glass beads, and other items. Susan also creates large
paper-mache sculptural constructions using recycled materials.
Although acrylic paint is her most currently used medium, she also work in
pastels, colored pencil, and graphite pencil. Her subject matter includes
brightly colored landscapes, still life, space scenes, and the surreal and
symbolic focusing on animals and the natural world.
“My symbolic work is an attempt to bridge the disconnect between the
individual and the earth, which contains all conceived boundaries. I am
inspired by dreams, books, current events, history and the forest. Frogs are
quick to manifest the effects of pollution via mutation, and as such I find
them to be particularly poignant messengers and meaningful images. I have
been portraying the hare as a symbol of fertility and life itself. Cups are
often included in my compositions,(specifically coffee cups), because of the
beauty of their form and the ancient connection to water,
sustenance, and abundance. I enjoy the images in the Rider-Waite tarot
deck, and I sometimes allude to them in my work.
Bolen’s
artwork has been exhibited at Sierra Cellars and the Mariposa Arts Council
gallery in Mariposa. Her painting “Crane Valley Falls” was featured on
the cover of the El Portalian magazine in 2006. Her mixed media piece
“Sparkling Tunnel View” was included in Yosemite Renaissance XXI in
2007. In October 2007 Susan participated in the Sierra Art Trails
Yosemite Foothills Open Studio Tour, and her mixed media piece “Gift”
was accepted into Brand “36 Secrets and Confessions” exhibit at the
Brand Library in Glendale, CA.