An Interview with American Realist Painter Susan Lyon
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 มิ.ย. 2024
- Alex Tzavaras interviews award winning American realist painter Susan Lyon.
Susan Lyon studied art at the American Academy of Art in Chicago. She was also a member of Chicago’s Palette and Chisel Club, where she met her husband, artist Scott Burdick and worked alongside other renowned realist painters like Richard Schmid and Nancy Guzik.
Susan is a great teacher. Alex first became aware of her work, quite soon after he began painting and purchased some of her videos. They helped him improve immensely and he has since adopting some of Susan’s realist painting techniques into his own practice and teaching. Alex is also a VIP member of Susan’s Patreon channel and continues to consult Susan for advice on his own painting.
To find out more about Susan visit:
www.susanlyon.com
To see more demonstrations by Susan, visit her Patreon Channel:
/ susanlyon
00:00 Intro
02:02 Susan's Portrait Demonstration
08:54 The Importance of Economy of Brushwork
16:46 Susan's Drawings
20:17 Susan's Recent Paintings
25:39 Still Life Painting
31:04 Colours and Limited Palettes
39:09 Painting from Life
49:49 Being an Artist
55:40 Susan's Education and How She Became an Artist
1:02:33 The Palette & Chisel and Meeting Scott Burdick
1:07:16 Art Education and Realism in the United States
1:15:19 The Resurgence of Realist Painting Online
1:21:16 Advice for Artists Just Starting to Paint.
Alex Tzavaras is a contemporary realist artist offering portrait painting and alla prima oil painting tutorials. Alex teaches the traditional painting techniques artists used to draw and paint from life up until the start of the 20th century.
For Alex's courses on the fundamentals of oil painting visit:
/ simplifydrawing
Or connect with Alex:
/ alex_tzavaras
/ simplifydraw. .
/ alextzavaras
alextzavaras.com
I had the privilege of attending Susan’s life drawing group a few years ago. The best part was standing next to Susan and just watching her draw!
Amazing! You were very lucky to be able to do so.
What an AMAZING interview!!! Love Susan’s work so much!
Thank you Alesia! Glad you enjoyed it.
very generous everything essential has been discussed especially the first part where she talked about how important to see values and not get into details right away ..
Thank you so much for being so open! What a breath of fresh air you are Susan!!
1:20:16 I’m 18 and my hobby is painting. Ever since I discovered your teaching and method it has changed the way I think about and approach art. Because of your channel I have gained the ability to paint from life.
Prior to discovering your method I used to think “how do I draw the eyes”, “how do I do a nose”. Your method completely changed my viewpoint from seeing symbolic things like noses to simple abstract masses. This procedure of seeing the whole before the parts was a huge breakthrough for me.
Thank you for your channel.
Thank you so much! Enabling young artists such as yourself to have have breakthroughs and understand how this stuff works, is exactly the reason I started this channel, so hearing that means a lot.
Thank you so much for all of your videos! They are incredibly helpful 💌
this is one of the best online resource to learn. thank you
Thank you very much!
One of my fav artists along with Casey Baugh Richard Schmid
This is so cool man
Thank you very much! Glad you like it.
She is a Disciple of Schmid
Wonderful interview and exchange of ideas. I have spent my entire career as an illustrator, graphic designer and art director. Now having left staff jobs I am doing more painting and pastels with occasional drawings. I agree with Susan about trying different medias and experimenting with the media the artist is working with ( i. e. playing with pastels, adding water and paint with a brush - Mary Cassatt did that). I had a great art history professor in college that really opened my eyes to the entire history of art and why/how it changed and evolved over time. It really adds to ones understanding of painting and appreciation of any particular artists' work. Thank you Alex for all you offer through your teaching and efforts to help other artists grow creatively!
Thank you very much Diane! Glad you enjoyed it.
Can't wait. Susan Lyon is one of the best
Thank you for this post and lovely interview / conversation. Loved the opening painting and comments through it.
Thank you very much David! Glad you liked it.
Great conversation. Thought provoking. Thank you Susan & Alex for sharing your life experiences.
Thank you Eric! Glad you liked it.
That was a Great interview. Nice to listen to an Actual "down-to-earth" Professional artist.
Loved it.
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.
Thank you for this video, and thank you Susan for your insights - wonderful
Thank you Julia! Glad you enjoyed it.
Great interview. Susan loves to share her skills. Thank you guys
Thank you William. Glad you enjoyed it!
I really wanna thankyou Alex for sharing this amazing video. I m halfway through this and really appreciate your insights, opinions on art. There's so much to learn from you guys. 🙏🙏
Thank you Deepinder! Glad you enjoyed it.
Thanks Alex and Susan
So honest and genuine conversation. Thank you. I have created all my life and 2019 I semi retired and took up my love of painting… and I am on a journey of discovery. I empathise with your journeys.
Thank you Bea!
Your work is beautiful hearing you talk about painting really inspires me to paint more both of you are great teachers I really appreciate watching you
That's great Jimmy, Thank you!
Superb conversation, very inspiring, wonderful artist who knows their arts and communicate genuine information thank you so much
Thank you Francois! Glad you enjoyed it.
Thanks so much for such a brilliant informative interview!
My pleasure! Glad you like it.
great interview .wonderfull person so glad i found this site.i cant wait to see more
Thank you Eugene! I'm glad you've found my channel.
Extremely extraordinary....very indepth..... amazing insights👏👏👏👏👏👌👌👌👌👌👌🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
Love this interview! thanks alex you're a legend
Thank you! Glad you liked it.
Thank you Alex for sharing this wonderful interview with wonderful Artist Susan Lyon,
thank you both for the excellent information, very informative and useful knowledge for both beginners and advanced artists.
This inspired me to take steps as described by Susan.
Many thanks.
Thank you Fawzi! Glad you enjoyed it.
Great advice, thanks for this
This was so helpful thank you!
Thanks Rita!
The end product is what people/ viewers admire. But how you do it is what peers see as most important.
Enjoyed the interview. Thank you Susan for speaking about the downgrading and jealousy that some Artist do to other Artist. It just shows their own insecurities, but it's what I hate about being an artist. I also found a really good secure artist does not do that. I believe we are all I'm the same boat, and need each others support. Kudos to you both.
Thank you Lewis. Very glad you enjoyed it.
This chat is so rich...thank you🙏
Thank you!
So encouraging.
Thank you Barbara!
Great interview!
Thanks Tim!
Great, honest interview!
Thanks Judy!
Thanks
OMG…Ten minutes into the interview and BAM, exactly!!! Why can’t I sometimes just leave it ALONE!! Lol! It’s comforting to hear even artists at your level feel this pain 😄
Yes Indeed. Even though you do get better at painting with practice, it never feels like it gets any easier.
Great artist interviews great artist.
Thank you!
Great video 👏
Thanks Joseph!
Thanks for an interesting interview, hope to bump into you in London one day.
Thank you David. Yes, I hope so too.
I got duped into getting a BFA in painting and I still suck. This channel is worth more than my degree.
Thank you very much! So glad you think so.
Hi. It gives you legitimacy. I’m very good but didn’t get a very choice post… a dream post because they claimed I didn’t have a proper education. I cursed them and still do 20 yrs later. All education becomes a benefit at some time.
coming coming
you are the best alex
Thank you for the reply, i am talking about the artist you mentioned and i reviewed my comment . I think he is so sure about things specifically that he is beyond my experience level of understanding. I went back weeks ago and watched his 4-5 part lecture on Impressionism and what that really meant. That was important. Then I started watching his videos(there’s many) and the Q and A is not simple because his audience is ahead of me in his field of art and painting. If I had completed many hours of study of value hue and chroma and painting i might be there. However, just your interview of how you felt and what you had to do to get your head around this was the encouraging thing. I was able to follow your more brief descriptions because i had started thinking and listening about the above. You deserve my patronage just for communicating the way you did on the interview. How you feel, what you do, what your concerns and thoughts were and how it is for you really helped. Thank you
Thank you Lauren!
Susan
L, fantastic painter of form. What she says takes time to reveal. You come to realize it eventually. The game is to economy of motion. I equate this to a samurai. They strive for perfection in their moves. When the blade comes out of the sheathe it hits the target. Organizations is really the end game.
still watching this. everything is in this video
Every time I follow your mathod.🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Terrific.
Thank Jay!
I really enjoyed the interview which I felt was straightforward and honest. Yes art schools in my day at Norwich did not teach me anything. And they definitely were not into realism. Im a painter and im told I have talent but I dont know much about techniques so love your show. Infact a lot of modern art I see in galleries in America, whilst it is trendy and clever, I find it soulless. Its as if we need to find something else. I find it easy to compose paintings but all this value and warm and cool colours I find difficult.
Thanks Mary. Glad you liked it. Yes, I know what you mean about some contemporary realists painting in the US. What I'd say about the US, is there appears to me, to have been a wider appreciation for realist art and more teachers available who can teach this stuff in the latter half of the 20th Century, than here in the UK? I'm not sure. We have a lot of fantastic painters here in the UK too, particularly Plein air painters. But our taste in the UK can be quite idiosyncratic and there are also plenty of examples of style over substance here too. What do you think?
This has been wonderful sharing all of your history and ups and downs. I agree that the debt and having to get an art education that is not useful or helpful. Two years spent on classes that are useless in colleges . I did timed drawings and never experienced it until i got to university of texas and i had no history in painting and these people could do it . All of your advice is right on and it is life lessons you are sharing and how you felt coming along.’
By the way you could discuss the unregulated business of art and how manipulated it is.
Thank you for the honesty and helpful. I have watched a person that talks about the Boston school as if it is the only way. It is arrogant sounding.
Thank you very much Lauren. Are you talking about Paul Ingbretson? I actually really like his channel. I find his videos very interesting, particularly his ideas about colour and design. He is very knowledgable about art history, much more so than I am. You're right that he does come across as a little dogmatic, but in my experiences most experts are. It was funny hearing him critiquing Richard Schmid's work, saying he's methods were too Illustrative. Maybe they are from a strictly impressionistic viewpoint, I wouldn't know? But the proof is in the pudding, as they say and I certainly prefer Richard's work much more than Ingbretson's.
great painter
Great to hear this interview Alex(am using my girlfriends YT subscription as mine is full of adverts!) have shared it with a local art group I attend. Have identical experiences of UK art school in the nineties. (funny the way you described it, made me smile!) However yours and many other internet opportunities help close the gap. So thank you!
On the note of the (Lets say three) Florence based art schools that started 20 or more years back, you mentioned Gammel as a teacher. As well as him, I did hear that Italian painter Pietro Arnigonni was an influence on one, or more of them too? Bit of trivia perhaps but thought Id mention it, perhaps others may have more info. Cheers Phil
Thank you very much Phil! Yes indeed, you're referring to the John Angel Academy, I believe he trained under Pietro Annigoni. I'm don't know if Annigoni used sight size there, but the student's work on the Angel Academy website is really academic and it says they start with 6 months of barque drawing, so maybe they do?
@@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting
Yes it is sight size all the way Alex I'm told. Again someone might correct me here but I believe it was Charles Cecil, Daniel Graves and John Angel started off together perhaps?
John Angel was travelling a lot so there was a split. And the other two parted ways as well but dont know when.I read somewhere that (probably as well as Gammel) Daniel Graves had also looked at Bargue plates in the V and A archive department ?
I saved up to attended one of the Russian schools in Florence for two months and it gave me a hell of a boost. Would recommend their approach personally, but that is just my preference. These last few years have been a revelation to me, due to online demos and teaching Such as your own TH-cam channel, Proko, New Masters Academy...
As more and more people become skilled and proficient, and, Although it is exiting times I wonder as far as Art goes where it is all heading to?
As you say in your interview with Susan regarding Instagram, there are more and more skilled artists coming through now and it is Interesting to see
Hi Alex, have you ever dabbled in acrylic painting? I've been trying the methods of mass painting in acrylic paint and it's working wonderfully. I can't paint in oils yet since I paint in my room.
I haven't used Acrylics since I was at school. Yes, the mass drawing approach works perfectly well with Acrylics, as values, colours etc are entirely visual phenomena. The differences between Acrylic and Oil are technical, in that oils take longer to dry so you can blend them together more easily. Also with oils, you can't paint transparent colours (usually darker colours) over opaque colours (usually lighter colours) without them mixing together. But because Acrylics dry almost instantly you can paint light over dark really easily.
TH-cam channels like these helped me get far in one years time. I do digital painting. I went from cartoony looking portraits to pretty decent looking portraits. I won't say I am at my best, but it's acceptable right now. I can't wait to see how far I get in year 2. I did a self portrait on my YT. Please people, listen to what these people are saying and try it out. You will flop the first few times you try to implement what they are saying. However at some point, you will finally understand what they meant.
YOU WILL NOT GET what they are saying the first time you try it. Never expect to get the skill by just listening to what they are saying. You have to go through the trial and error of the methods. When you do try it for some time come back to these types of videos and then your experience trying it, and the new stuff they talk about will start to make more sense.
I still remember watching the video of him painting himself from a mirror on this channel and that helped me see painting as something different.
My method is I don't see people when I begin the painting. I see objects interacting with light. I put in large shapes, then put in smaller and smaller ones. At some point they start looking like the objects that I can associate with. Like a tree, eye, face, etc. It is at that moment I know its time to add the details and give those random objects interacting with light their association/definition.
Very well said! It's quite hard to even understand what we're talking about untill you've actually done it and "seen" it. As the great Artist and teacher Harold Speed says in his books, talking about painting is like trying to describe the taste of sugar to someone who has never eaten it. I always try to keep this is in mind when making my videos.
@alex I met Sue, Scott, Richard Schmid and Nancy Guzik in Chicago at the Palette and Chisel academy.
Yes indeed, if I remember correctly you posed there didn't you?
interesting to know my latest job was lorry driving susan lyon was fun to se how she did what vill in your next video landscape or portrait demo and merry cristmas to you and your family alex
Thank you very much Kaj, happy Christmas to you too!
Her articulation... narrative is a painting itself...I hope she writes a book
I've discovered a great brown can be made w viridian alizarin then cad orange deep
Thanks for the tip Jennifer.
what did you work with before you became an artist are teathing today daily on a school or
After leaving Art school I taught my self to use desk top publishing software like photoshop and Quark express (now obsolete) and worked in the print industry, alongside everyone else who had graphic design degrees. The I got bored of that and starting working in event production, hiring out live audio equipment. Until the early 2000's, when people starting having websites and I was able to find someone who could teach me to paint. I started teaching very early on I'm my career, basically working for my teacher, regurgitated what they'ed taught me with very little knowledge or experience of my own. This is what happens at most Ateliers, you mainly get taught by other Students, with a year or two more experience. so they know f-all. But because you know even less, you think they know loads. I started teaching on my own privately in 2016. You won't find this kind of education in a mainstream art school, as far as I'm aware, any of the schools that teach drawing and painting from life, outside of Russia, are run privately as business. Though there are scholarships and bursaries available to train in realist Art, offered by charities and other organisations.
I think if people want a commission, they are wanting the style of the artist, or they would go to a different artist or photoshop a photo. Susan and her husbands style has been more of a movement of application and color. beautiful artwork, i would love to be able to afford an original. maybe one day.
This woman is gorgeous
This is a question for Alex, you mentioned leaving UAL before graduation, did you do a foundation year and what did you think was important about your time there?
I did a foundation at Central Sy Martins in 94-95. From a perspective of learning to paint from life, nothing I did there was important. I did get to try out lots of different things, like fashion, jewellery design, textiles, ceramics, film, photography, theatre design, but I was not given any instruction. We were left entirely to our own devices and all the teachers did was ask us what we meant or what we were trying to say, basically training us how to talk about art rather than how to actually do anything. I considered doing a degree in either Graphics, Jewellery design or Theatre design. But to be honest none of these things were what I really wanted to do. If I had done a degree, I'm certain my young impressionable mind would have been brainwashed by postmodern philosophical debates about Art theory etc, which appeared to me the main focus of what little actual education was on offer. Instead I dropped out taught myself desk top publishing software and got a job in the print industry working alongside lots of people with degrees in Graphic Design. I wish I'd had the self discipline to just carry on painting from life on my own, but unfortunately I didn't at that age. It wasn't until I was able to find someone who could guide me, that I started again.
Realism is painting leafs on trees! Her type of painting, although very impressive, are nothing but 'Impressionism', a la Manet! A bunch of dots and dashes laid down that give a good 'impression' of the subject!
I also think of the impressionists as realists, in that their discoveries of the way colour behaves, particularly Monet's, enabled subsequent artist to achieve a greater level of visual truth. But what do I know? I'm just a painter, Art historians and experts may disagree?
Acrylic or oil?
Susan's paintings are mainly in oil I believe, certainly the ones featured in this video. But she has used some Acrylic in one of the drawings featured "Selene Goddess of the Moon". So it appears she uses Acrylics sometimes.
What a coup for you Alex, Susan is top drawer. Must mean something when someone of her calibre rates your efforts.
Thank you Graham! Susan is indeed top drawer.
I missed the chat...but I wanted to ask ...why we see very few palette knife artists? I mean fully palette knife artists.
I don't know many artist who use the palette knife exclusively, but they definitely make use of it. I made a video showing how I use one sometimes:
th-cam.com/video/iTgRYR9giVA/w-d-xo.html
Anyone ever have Artist’s Block ❓😬
Continually...
You demonstrated an interesting technique, but you did not capture the identity of the woman. This was not a portrait.
Not a very charitable remark. This WAS all about her technique (which is remarkable)
Come to Islam n Success..