# 4. KATHLEEN and CRAIG, 24" x 30", Oil on
Canvas, NFS
Susan Strauss is recognized as one of New England's most talented portrait artists. Her paintings are included in many private and corporate collections across the country. A painter in the classical realist tradition. Her portraits, which are included in both corporate and private collections, portray people from varied professional backgrounds, including business executives, attorneys and physicians.
A member of the American Society of Portrait Artists, Ms. Strauss is the recipient of many awards at juried group and solo exhibits. Her portrait art has been featured on public television as well as in the New York Times, Connecticut Magazine and the Hartford Courant.Upon completion of her B.A. and M.A. at Brooklyn College, Ms. Strauss continued her studies with some of the finest contemporary artists at the Hartford Art School, the Art Students League and the School of Visual Arts in New York City.Her twelve years as an art instructor include teaching at the Performing Arts School in New York City.
Ms. Strauss now devotes her talents entirely to portraiture. Believing that a successful portrait is the result of close collaboration between the subject and the artist, she begins with a meeting to discuss the feeling and tone to be conveyed in the portrait. Together she and her client consider the background and the pose as well as details of attire. One photographic sitting provides a selection of expressions, poses and lighting effects for reference purposes in the final composition. The personal attention which Ms. Strauss gives to each subject brings the canvas to life with portraits that truly reflect the unique character and personality of each subject.
