The award-winning portrait and figure painter Susan Lyon is best known for her beautiful edges and inviting cultural renditions of the human form, capturing life from around the globe. Adept in many mediums from pastel to watercolor and oils, Lyon makes use of these many artistic tools to portray the subject in dramatically lit poses, primarily painting directly from life. Traveling the world to find alluring subjects, she brings a unique body of work to the American art world that often conveys dazzling moments in the lives of her figures. With a first place gold medal award from Oil Painters of America and other fine accolades, Susan has a place among the Contemporary Masters of realism today.
Formative Years
Growing up in a home surrounded by art, one might think Lyon has been drawing since she was a child. Her first memories of creating however were after she saw a PBS program about Georgia O’ Keeffe while in high school which encouraged her try colored chalks. “I just liked the feeling of touching the chalks and rubbing them into the paper,” she says. “I tried to do some copies of her paintings. My father had gone to the Art Institute of Chicago in the 1950s but back then it was impossible to make a living at being an artist so he worked a lot of odd jobs and sold creative merchandise. He did buy art, so we had fine art in our house, but he never drew or painted while I was growing up.”
Further inspired by the O’Keeffe program, Lyon enrolled in Saturday classes for high school students at the Art Institute of Chicago. Although she doesn’t feel like she learned very much, the experience of being there and going behind the scenes at the museums did spark her interest in the field. “I knew I didn’t want to go to the Art Institute for college because they only focused on abstract and conceptual art. My father soon signed me up for summer classes at the American Academy of Art. I had no drawing talent; I was scared and excited to take the summer classes. I never thought about fine art—my goal was to go into commercial art.” she explains.
Susan attended the academy for three years and received an associate degree. Here is where she met renowned artist Richard Schmid, who was a guest lecturer. “I remember that being a pivotal turning point in my direction as an artist. I left that presentation with a new outlook and was incredible excited about fine art from then on. His book on painting figures was my art Bible.”
Selene Goddess of the Moon, 2019, charcoal on paper, 21 by 24"
Lyon had heard of the Palette & Chisel, an association of representational artists headquartered just two miles north in an old brownstone and where Schmid and other artists painted together and were making a living with art. Lyon recalls, “My husband Scott Burdick was part of that dream team at the Palette & Chisel. One day I visited a classmate who was posing…Scott was the monitor and he asked me if I would pose. I was very excited to be around the famous young artists and it was a chance for me to tell him that I owned one of his paintings. My father had given it for me for Christmas a month before (I had mentioned to my dad that he should get a Scott Burdick because he was going to be famous). After I posed, Scott asked me out to see a movie and we have been together ever since.”
Although she was able to watch Schmid paint often there, she was too shy to have him critique her work and he soon moved to Colorado just eight months later. She was thrilled to later paint with the “Putney Painters” group alongside Schmid a few times. Susan learned one of the most important things about becoming an artist at the Palette—how to work hard at it. There she watched Scott and Nancy Guzik (later to become Schmid’s loving wife) paint for hours on end together.
Luminous, 2018, pastel, 20 x 28"
Susan tried her luck working at an animation studio but later would paint along side Scott as they mainly they lived a frugal artist life together in Chicago. Scott was earning income teaching and selling at a gallery. She soon learned how to navigate selling fine art and working with galleries and continued to improve her craft.
Inspiration and Style
Like many living realists, Susan admires masters such as John Singer Sargent, Joaquín Sorolla, Anders Zorn, and Russian artists Filipp Malyavin and Valentin Serov. She also greatly appreciates Alphonse Mucha and Gustav Klimt for their amazing designs and has learned much from visiting the works in person. Schmid and Guzik were also greatly influential. Lyon considers herself to be a classical studio painter, working in a controlled environment, and has always been drawn to the figure as her main subject.
“In school, I remember Richard asking me what I would paint if I could paint anything. I was really into his figure book at the time and I also loved Anders Zorn’s nudes. I told him I would paint nudes. If I had to answer that question now it would be portraits. I think portraits are the hardest subject to paint. I am not a natural drawer—it took me years to be able to do an adequate portrait to sell. I did a lot of still lifes in the beginning.”
Rose Colored Glasses, 2023, pastel on paper, 26 x 28"
Lyon prefers strong lighting, and slightly theatrical poses and costuming as we see in the piece Luminous. A combination of drawing mediums and watercolor, and strong overhead lighting inform this illuminated portrait. Sharp edges from the drawing materials mixed with soft flowing pastel and watercolors come together to create the sense of focus and softness that this work embodies. The additional strokes of pale, light color touching the eyelashes further intensifies the effect of lighting on the subject. This piece is exceptional for its overall aesthetic and the creative use of the mediums themselves.
When asked whether her style has evolved over time, Lyon says it has changed over the years and recently, as well. “My work used to focus on using a very limited palette, with brown and blue,” she says. “I would occasionally use earth tones or the Zorn palette. In the past year I started wanting to express myself with color. I think it’s a slow transition for me, trying new things and see if they will work. I am experimenting with pastels more now than I have in the past. My new desire is to use colors I haven’t in the past and see how colorful I can get. I think I am ready for a new chapter.”
Child of the Sky, 2011, pastel on paper, 19 x 15”
This new color can be seen in Rose Colored Glasses, where she pushes the envelope with daring and delicious color combinations. Deep purple, with rose and greens shine alongside the yellow flesh tones to create an exciting, vibrant new style that echoes the youthful and fun-loving figure who seems to dance in the brilliant tones.
Lyon says that her works on paper are generally her favorite, and those she is most proud of, because they give her the freedom to express, change and be bold. “I like how I can edit with dry media and not be so literal,” she explains. “I find it harder for me to do that with oil paint. I haven’t figured out how to be bold with oil paints yet. The only time I have felt in the flow with oils is when I time myself to do short poses. I am able to capture a gesture that I like. If I have to stop because the timer went off then I don’t over work the paintings. I always tend to ruin things when I work too long on them.”
For the artist to name a specific favorite piece is more difficult. She does say that the works featured here are among her favorites. “I feel like those works show a side of me that is unique to me.”
Travel and Teaching
For Susan, one of the great joys of being an artist is in teaching others. In doing so she aims to help others to learn in an easier way than she did, to give them the missing lessons she wished she had early in her career. “I started to teach later in my career and I find it to be the happiest part of being an artist for me,” she shares. “I feel more rewarded when I teach than when I do work just for myself. It taps into something within me that identifies with that part of us that doesn’t know what we are doing and are scared of failure. My goal is to hopefully help people the way I wish I had been helped in the beginning of my learning.”
Harmony of Blues, 2022, pastel on paper, 12 x 9"
Traveling as a source of inspiration is a very important part of Lyon’s process. She and Scott travel constantly inspired by finding new exotic portraits to paint. The act of being in front of new subjects, new friends, new tribes, is one of the sacred and most beloved aspect of their lives as artists. Capturing the lighting, costumes and traditions of the people they paint brings life to their works and the artists themselves.
“I have always wanted to travel and when I met Scott he was excited to also. We both were inspired to paint people from other countries, I have always been more excited to paint people with character and traditional outfits, more than people that look like me. I go to Europe to see the museums and walk the streets. I never felt comfortable painting on location. I would do it to try and get better at it, but it’s not my first love. But when I was sitting in one place studying a beautiful church or fountain it was enjoyable to just be there and not rush past these places. We usually don’t sit in one place and absorb what is around us. Painting on location was a wonderful exercise in observing.”
La Belle, 2023, pastel on paper, 20 x 20"
High Notes and Sage Advice
Among her achievements as a realist artist in America, are winning a gold medal from Oil Painters of America, awards from the Portrait Society of America, and receiving the Donald Teague Memorial Award for works on paper award at the Prix de West. Lyon tries not to give much thought to the outcome of sales and awards and that those mentioned above were welcomed surprises.
She reminds us that it’s normal to compare your work to others’ and be inspired by others and what they are painting. She urges artists to create their own work and paint their own subjects as this is where they will be most authentic and love doing the work itself—in this space is where they will flourish.
Oracle, 2019, pastel on paper, 25 by 25”
Not many artists ever feel that they have mastered their skills. We are always learning. However, Susan Lyon does feel that at this point in her career, she has the skills and confidence to push herself to do new things—like introducing more color. She says, “I don’t know if they will sell, but I feel compelled to try.” Her collectors and many artist fans will no doubt enjoy continuing to watch as she shares her love of various mediums, and her ability to capture dramatically lit faces and figures from around the world. —
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