Five Questions with AHA! Featured Artist Susan Bayard Whiting

Visual artist Susan Bayard Whiting grew up in South Glens Falls, NY and attended Adirondack Community College (now SUNY Adirondack), where she studied Technical Illustration. Now retired, she is a promoter, picture framer, and artist at Whiting Art Studio, where she works with her husband of 44 years, Robert. They have two sons and four grandchildren.

1. Had you always wanted to be an artist?
From an early age I always loved to draw and paint but never considered being an artist as something that would afford me a living. That adage “Starving Artist” didn’t seem to me to be a lifestyle that I could commit to.

2. Whose work has inspired you?
It wasn’t until I was in my twenties when I began visiting art museums that I drew inspiration from certain artists. Mary Cassatt, Camille Pissarro, George Inness and John Singer Sargent are the artists who have inspired me the most. Their use of color, deep darks and brilliant lights are exquisite.

3. How would you describe your art?
Most of the time my work leans toward Impressionism and follows many of the principals of the Tonalists.

4. What do you like about being an artist?
What I LOVE about being an artist is the opportunity to express myself in a way that others can relate to. Having a way to create something that another person can see and associate with a memory or situation that is important to them is a powerful thing. An artist can choose to shock or inspire. I choose to inspire through sharing the beauty around me. It might not be the most profitable artistic avenue right now but that’s what motivates me to pick up a brush.

5. What brought you to this area/what kept you here?
I have lived in the Capital Region, Warren, Washington and Saratoga counties and for a very short while, in Vermont. My husband’s and my family’s history is deeply embedded in this part of the county. To us, there isn’t another part of the U.S. that inspires us so much. Travel is so much easier since retirement and we do enjoy visiting other parts of the world but we’ll always come back to the Northeast.

You can watch Susan's story on AHA! A House for Arts.