Susan La Mont
Susan La Mont earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Pratt Institute and a Master of Arts from Syracuse University. Most recently she received a Doctor of Arts in Higher Education from George Mason University, with a focus on art; her dissertation examined the solutions fine artists develop for problems that confront them in their work. Susan has exhibited in regional and national shows in fourteen states and the District, and has received awards from the Torpedo Factory’s Art League, Professional Artist Magazine, the Maryland Federation of Art, The Vienna Arts Society, Gallery Underground, and the League of Reston Artists. Elan Magazine profiled her work in 2001, and her paintings reside in over 60 private and international corporate collections.
Artist Statement
Like many artists, I’ve painted since I could hold a brush, but it wasn’t until I went to art school that I became seduced by the sensuous qualities of oil paint. It’s a medium that allows me to best communicate what I feel about a scene, and it has proven stability and permanence. My primary interest is in communicating a sense of what life is like in the twenty-first century. I find engaging scenarios everywhere, and am passionate about translating them to the canvas or panel, usually working on multiple pieces at a time.
Realism offers me a way to express the commonality of human experience to the widest range of viewers, as well as allowing me to follow in the tradition of genre painting. This narrative realism has a contemporary feel, with references to technology, our diverse culture, and the influence of the fashion world.