Suzanne May

Artist Statement

I paint in a variety of styles, ranging from abstract to realistic works, and use acrylic as a medium. I use an emotional and intuitive approach in order to capture the mood, energy, and vibrancy of the subject matter. Primarily a landscape artist, I use this approach with the many elements of art in a way that creates a natural atmospheric quality – one that can reach into your heart and connect with your being. As a larger body of work, this mood and energy flows through each painting, regardless of style. The purpose of my work is to communicate this dynamic energy directly to the viewer. I enjoy blending color directly on the canvas, but also find the use of underpainting and layering essential to my work.

Artist Bio

Suzanne May was born in Essex, England and moved to rural Manitoba, Canada as a teenager, where she currently lives and works. She draws inspiration from the beauty of the prairie landscape, with its dynamically contrasting seasons, and from the ocean landscape which “lives in my heart.” 

Drawing on her intuitive experience as a poet, and her love of philosophy, Suzanne’s work explores the vital energy that resonates around us, and attempts to capture the mood, expression, and pervasive force of our natural environment. This becomes a catalyst for the viewer’s emotional experience.

As a self- taught artist, Suzanne has enjoyed creating in a variety of mediums, starting with earlier works in oil. In 2014 after some years away from painting, she returned to the canvas with a preference for acrylic and a renewed vision. Suzanne blends color directly on the canvas, which helps to achieve a continuous intuitive process. Many of her abstract works are created with a palette knife, using a combination of impasto, and sgraffito techniques. Underpainting and layering are also key components to her work. Suzanne enjoys creating abstract, impressionistic, and realistic works. Suzanne’s work is owned by private collectors across Canada. Her work has been exhibited in Regional Art shows and local Fine Arts Festivals, and through the Manitoba Arts Network Rural and Northern Exhibition (2021). An exhibition of her work was held at the Wasagaming Community Art Gallery in Wasagaming Manitoba, and at the Russell Art Gallery. Suzanne’s work can be viewed on her facebook page:  SMayArt.