Summer Cow 5 Painting

American outsider artist Susan Crew, was born in Chicago, Illinois, raised in Newburgh, Indiana, a small river town of 1500 people and is now a resident artist at Essex Studios in Cincinnati, OH. Formally trained in depth psychology, she eventually followed her heart into what is now a full time pursuit of making art. Excited by the work of the Abstract Expressionists and the Surrealist's relationship with the unconscious, she immerses herself in a dialogue with unseen forces of the imaginal realm as she calls forth images onto the canvas. Gesture, movement and strong color are her primary tools. She creates moments of lucidity, windows into the invisible realm of archetypal energies and spirit. Sometimes her work is purely abstract expression, sometimes various creatures and figures emerge. Each bring their own energy. Drawn to and fascinated by cows and their connection with the energies of the Great Mother goddesses, Susan paints herds of these gentle animals. Feminine powers of caring for, nurturing and protecting come through these animals who come to do no harm and can turn grass into milk. Each cow she paints brings her own emotion and mood through the colors, marks and gestures Susan is prompted to make. Her studies with African Shaman, Malidoma Somé, and her deep immersion in the psychology of Carl Jung inform her work. A dialogue filled with action and experiment manifests in the finished painting. The viewer completes the creative process. Her works have been shown in juried shows and galleries including CCAC Golden Ticket, Dick Waller’s Art Place, Art on Vine, Upstairs at the Greenwich, Kennedy Heights Arts Center, The Mockbee, and Redtree Gallery in Cincinnati, OH. Her work can also be found in private and corporate collections in the United States. More of her work can be seen on her website,