Images courtesy of Susan Watkins
Top: "A fine day for skiing"
Bottom: "Higher ground"
By Susan Watkins
Special to the Turnagain Times
The Girdwood Center for Visual Arts is gearing up for a fine showing of solo art exhibits heading into winter. Starting off in September Susan Watkins will be exhibiting a collection of her recent work in oils entitled “Higher Ground.”
Watkins has been an artist member of the Girdwood Co-op for five years, since her arrival in Alaska. She and her husband have lived and traveled in many parts of the U.S. and overseas. Both are outdoor enthusiasts and settled on Alaska as the place to live out their lives. Her canvases come from the sights she gathers while backpacking among the incredible scenery. Primarily a landscape artist, Watkins is also known for her mural work in many private homes and public facilities as well.
In the more recent years she completed murals for Providence Hospital Alaska Cares Center, through out North Star Hospital, Anchorage Community Mental Health, the Office of Children’s Services lobby in Anchorage and the Pioneer Home library in Fairbanks. She strongly believes art has a deep healing relationship with healthcare.
Her hikes inspire this showing of her work and experiences around Alaska, including some from a fly in backpack trip Watkins took with her brother in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park this past summer.
The show opened Sept. 2 and runs through the end of the month. Please join us for the Opening Reception Saturday, Sept. 11 from 6-8 p.m., supported by GCVA members, Jack Sprat and Chair 5. More of Susan’s work can be viewed on her website at www.susanwatkinsart.com.
