Welcome!

Welcome to The Studio of Susannah Eckman (Williams '11)!

To browse the artwork, select a link from the list of posts above.
Click on the works for a larger view!


If you would like to get more information or to commission your own original piece, e-mail me at ste1@williams.edu. I like to paint from photographs, so most of my pieces have been done from my own photos or magazine clips.
Prices vary based upon time and size.

Un cancello italiano

My Aunt Jeanne commissioned me to paint this Italian gate, which she photographed on a sunny day some time ago. This is an 14" x 11" oil painting.

Chloe!

This is an 11" x 14" oil painting from a photograph of my "little sib" - Chloe - from the Big Sib program at school, who is here with me at a picnic in the Berkshires this spring!

Grandad

Click to enlarge!

Artwork around the house

This graphite sketch of our family dog, Rosie, is hanging in our basement.This oil painting is my newest portrait, commissioned by a family friend. The oil painting was done with the help of a handful of photographs.

A chalk drawing of a sunflower!

And last but not least, here's a small oil painting of the Brandywine River, 12" x 16", a view just a few steps past Brinton's Bridge in Chadds Ford, PA.

Yet MORE from Williams

These first 3 charcoal drawings are studies of chairs from the art classroom at Williams. The exercise was a way of looking at the negative and positive spaces created by the unique shapes of the chairs. The shading of the black charcoal took many many many hours!! But the results were very cool. The last drawing in this bunch is a collection of 6 negative/positive space views of the same chair, all pieced together to make an interesting design.

The following charcoal drawing is a still-life of random objects from my dorm room and the studio art closet. Click the picture to enlarge it for a more detailed look!

The final project for Drawing 101 was to create two charcoal drawings from photographs from a magazine or newspaper that had been cut and rearranged. The first is a composite of two photographs of visitors to the Vietname Veterans' Memorial and the second is a composite of a picture of the Memorial and a snapshot of soldiers and civilians.

More from Williams and a Charcoal Childhood

The drawing above, red chalk on black paper, is an in-class sketch of Jimi, the TA for my drawing class at Williams last year.

Another of the projects for Drawing 101 was to complete a series of charcoal sketches with unique perspectives from childhood photographs. The following 6 drawings are composed of Susannah in a tu-tu, asleep on the floor (I had mild narcolepsy as a child), dancing with my cousin Christopher, awestruck by Minnie Mouse, playing with my friend Catherine, and playing in a field hockey game.

A Finished Painting

During the summer, I posted a sketch of a painting I was doing of two black labs, Sybil and Chloe. Here is a picture of the finished painting, 18" x 24", framed by the owner. Accounting for size, time, and materials, this painting was $250.

Work from Williams' Drawing 100

In the fall of 2008, I took the Drawing 101 class at Williams. The following works are primarily charcoal on rough paper.

One of our first assignments was to draw a still-life using all white objects in a series of 3 drawings, progressing from 3 to 5 values. The following drawings are the results!

And this last charcoal drawing was an exercise in looking at textures. The resultant drawing is a compilation of several natural textures, including tree bark, rock, leaves, and asphalt (okay not all completely natural). Enjoy!

This summer I've been spending quite a bit of time with my Dad on the golf course. While I've only improved my golf game by a small, imperceptible to all but my dad, amount, I've still gotten a lot out of being on the course. This is the latest in my series of golf course views.

This work is of hole #11; it looks short and easy but I think it's safe to say it is my arch nemesis.
I hope you are all enjoying the last days of summer! Check back in a few days to see the finished oil painting of the two black labs; it's almost finished!

The 11th Hole, 2008
Oil on canvas
12" x 16"

Something New

The sketch below is what I am working on right now. I am planning an oil painting of two black labs, one who has recently passed away. The size of the drawing is 18" x 24" and I think that will also be the size of the painting. This preliminary drawing is to send to the "client," and it's in charcoal on paper. The standing dog is Chloe and the recumbent one is Sybil!



Chloe and Sybil, 2008
Charcoal on paper study
18" x 24"

Sketchbook

I'm planning on posting several of the drawings that fill the many sketchbooks lying around. This first is a brief sketch from a picture in National Geographic. That and my Dad's Rotary magazine, which does an annual photo contest from all its humanitarian efforts around the world, are my favorite places to look for subject matter outside family photos and local landscapes. Feodor and The Boy and Goat in my first posts, under People, are full-scale oil paintings of pictures I found in Nat'l Geographic.

Wrinkles, 2005
Graphic on paper
8" x 12"

The Beginning

Well, I have finally and officially given in to my sister Libby's advice, and here is my blog! I have posted many examples of what I have done to date, but there's acutally tons more. I began drawing and painting very early in life, as evidenced by this picture (my drawing was so good it put me to sleep! - it's rumored that I might have had a touch of narcolepsy). My favorite medium is oil, because there is no limit upon what you can do with it, and it's okay if you make a mistake. Therefore, most of my finished works are in oil, though I love drawing as well. In my high school art class, I also experimented with colored pencil, charcoal, pastel, watercolor, and guache, which is a technique with acrylic paint where you paint in large shapes graduated in value to portray 3D forms. Actually, one of my very first finished paintings was this work in acrylic paint on watercolor paper below; I saw a scene of these sailboats on a plastic placemat during one of the annual yard sales we put on in Ocean City, New Jersey. 50 cents poorer, I took the placemat home and painted the scene myself! It was my very first, big, framed painting, and now it hangs in my room. Anyway, I plan on posting daily, so visit again sometime soon!

People

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1. Feodor, 2005, Oil on canvas
   16" x 20"
2. Self-Portrait: Blue and Pink, 2006
   Conte crayon on paper
   16" x 20"
3. Boy and Goat, 2006
   Oil on canvas
   18" x 24"
4. Grandad, 2008
   Oil on canvas
   5" x 7"
5. The Boxer, 2005
   Oil on canvas
   18" x 20"
6. The Little Sisters, 2003
   Pastel on paper
   16" x 20"

Landscapes

1. Fairview Lake, 2004
   Oil on canvas
   8" x 10"
2. Shoreline, 2006
   Watercolor on paper
   7" x 10"
3. Bidermann: Hole #15
   Oil on canvas
   10" x 12"
4. Bidermann: Looking Back, #15
   Oil on canvas
   16" x 20"
5. Bidermann: Hole #10
   Oil on canvas
   12" x 16"

Animals

1. The Monkeys, 2006, Oil on canvas
   20" x 20"
2. The Goldens, 2006
   Oil on canvas
   16" x 20"
3. King of the Jungle, 2006
   Watercolor on paper
   7" x 10"
4. Honey, 2003
   Prismacolor pencil on paper
   16" x 20"