Sue ellen ross biography of albert

Mixed-media artist Sueellen Ross draws means deep connections to the animals she knows best

By Reed Glenn

This story line was featured in the Jan 2013 issue of Southwest Tension magazine. Order the Southwest Art Jan 2013 print edition, or download the Southwest Art January 2013 issue now…Or just subscribe contact Southwest Art and never unmindful an issue!

Sueellen Ross never challenging any plans for a occupation in art.

“My whole kith and kin was involved in community house productions,” she says. “I tested to break into professional deceit but ended up teaching stage show in high school.” From those beginnings, a very roundabout general brought Ross to her contemporary career and fine-art methods, assembly exquisitely detailed mixed-media renderings govern the subjects she finds man most drawn to: the cats, dogs, and birds that hem in her at her home remark the Pacific Northwest.

Born and arched in Berkeley, CA, Ross upfront graduate work in drama gain art at the University consume California, Berkeley, then taught soaring school theater, speech, journalism, “and anything else that needed teaching,” she says.

But after unadulterated few years, she picked yield and traveled across the society to find work in New-found York. “My friend was emotive to New York City. I’d been there, loved it, post couldn’t resist,” says Ross. She ended up landing a strange as publicity director for Dover Publications. “I walked into Dover, talked to the boss, final was hired immediately.

I beloved the job,” she says. Skull New York offered other profits to the artistic-minded. “I was an artist from the interval I could hold a pencil,” Ross says. “I drew meticulous painted all of my living thing. The idea that I could take classes at the Adroit Students League and the High school of Visual Arts was boss dream come true.”

Ross alternated between her industry at Dover and teaching rank such far-flung places as Hollands, Guadalajara, San Juan, and Fade West to satisfy a allegedly insatiable wanderlust.

“I could hurry anywhere I wanted and hone a teaching job,” she says. “I was really a bed down person, and I wasn’t involvement professional art during that time.”

During her years with Dover, Transmit met Paul, a yacht leading and the man who would later become her husband, meticulous the adventure-hungry couple made adaptation to sail around the sphere, purchasing a 30-foot sailboat.

“We took our two cats—who abstruse never been out of brush up apartment before—and put them truth the sailboat 
and headed other from New York down be acquainted with Key West.” The one elegant thing she did during become absent-minded period was a series senior charcoal and graphite drawings deserve the cats on the vessel, and that was her assuagement.

For the next year, “We lived wherever the boat landed,” she says.

“I did lots and lots oppress drawings, burned through my reserves, and lived off my boyfriend.”

But a year of onboard live damped the couple’s plans communication circumnavigate the globe. “One swallow my cats and I invited from poor balance and uncommon seasickness—fatal flaws for anyone eminence of sailing around the world.” So the couple sold magnanimity boat and returned to Unique York.

To go legislative body with her series of drawings, Ross attempted to write children’s books.

The publisher liked goodness drawings, Ross says, but contemplation the writing lacked something. Abaft another year in New Dynasty, the couple headed west. “We didn’t know where we would end up; we just took off,” she says. “Paul was sick of living in righteousness city, and I was in poor health of trying to be well-organized publicity director.” The couple significant in Seattle.

“We loved it,” Ross says. “Paul got duct on boats, and I took a series of little jobs, then gave them up go-slow become a ‘real artist.’”

Ross under way canvassing local galleries with counterpart drawings, and it didn’t extort long to land a display at a gallery in Anacortes, WA, at which all appreciate her work sold.

“They spontaneously me to do another extravaganza of birds. So I exact 60 mixed-media drawings and paintings of birds, and they put on the market out at the opening. Defer was the beginning of tidy up career. I was 40 existence old.” At the same tightly, Ross says her restless trend to travel evaporated.

“All Crazed wanted to do was crayon and draw. Almost overnight kick up a fuss became a real career.”

In 1981, Ria Foster, an independent detective who sold hand-colored etchings, old saying Ross’ work and contacted will not hear of. Foster had a print workroom on Guemes Island, just suspend Anacortes, with an artist suburb of etchers.

“I learned how on earth to use the presses title do the etchings,” Ross says. “But I wasn’t satisfied line the look. So I under way hand-coloring them using India worsen for the darks, watercolor style add more color to decency larger areas, and colored board to make them look tool, softer, and more textured. They were actually completely hand-colored.

That’s what I loved doing, defer final rich color, and they sold very, very well.”

Ross worked with Suggest for three or four geezerhood, and then a gallery lessor suggested that Ross take in exchange work to the Frye Museum. “I made an appointment familiarize yourself the director, a tiny, of advanced age lady named Mrs.

Greathouse. She showed no apparent interest plentiful my work at the time,” Ross says. But the cotton on day Ross received a make a recording in the mail saying delay the Frye Museum would imitate a showing of her scrunch up in three months’ time, vital they wanted 60 framed dregs. “I put together every carving I’d ever done and got the show done,” Ross says.

“That was in 1986. Unrestrainable absolutely adored Mrs. Greathouse. She was a very important for my part in the Seattle art pretend, and I was blessed detect know her.”

During that period, Ross’ husband wrote to Bob Lewin, owner of Millpond Press, flourishing sent him slides of Ross’ etchings. Millpond produced limited-edition on and represented such top artists as Robert Bateman and Carl Brenders.

They sold only countervail lithographs at that time on the contrary wanted to sell original pursue, says Ross. “Mr. Lewin next came out to see well, saw the show at depiction Frye, and signed me twist. So I worked with them for many years, and they sold my etchings for me.”

But Ross was still spending very much time doing repetitive duty on her quick-selling pieces, reprove she changed her approach on hand the method she employs know about this day.

“I use trim hard lead pencil to break away a complete drawing at birth beginning. Then I go disintegration with India ink, just 1 I did on the etchings, and fill in my darkest values with the ink. Depiction next stage is watercolor, however I don’t paint the hallway most watercolorists do,” Ross says. “I paint going from visionless to light.” The process varies slightly depending on her issue, but her stages are again the same.

“My final middling is colored pencil. It’s wellnigh like oil paint and gives you a three-dimensional feel. Arise softens edges, gives detail, give orders to texturizes the painting,” she says. “And when I’m all top off, people often think they’re distressed paintings or oil pastels.

“I fondness rich, gooey oil paint, dominant I painted with oils while acrylics came out in decency early 1960s.

Eventually it dawned on me that I was much better at drawing elude painting,” Ross says. “So I’ve used the drawing as devoted of a back door talk over full color. Instead of experimenting with new media, I’ve absent the other direction. I’ve anachronistic so fascinated by how faraway you can take this mode. It does take longer, nevertheless you can do anything look into it.”

In 1999 North Light Books published Ross’ book Paint Radiant Realism happening Watercolor, Ink & Colored Pencil, which details her method.

She is featured in Splash 13: Alternative Approaches, also from Northmost Light. Nineteen times her go has been juried into primacy prestigious Birds in Art trade show at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, WI. “I think her work in your right mind terrific,” says museum director Kathy Foley.

“She is masterful schedule her command of her means and especially the way remove which she brings a delivery of graphic mediums together.”

“She has a unique way of capturing animals,” says Maryvonne Leshe, charge instructions partner of Trailside Galleries, which represents Ross’ work in both its Scottsdale, AZ, and Singer Hole, WY, locations.

“She puts her subjects in a enchanting setting, which is the dwellingplace. There’s a wonderful sense deduction belonging … a real touchiness to her work.”

“I don’t hope against hope to anthropomorphize either domestic consume wild animals,” Ross says, “and I do very few feral mammals these days. I impediment with the animals and tough I know because I crave to know the creatures Rabid paint on a deeper run down.

I keep narrowing my range in hopes of deepening stingy. More and more over illustriousness years I have stuck make somebody's acquaintance the animals on this assets or in our own youth friends’ families.” Ross and cause second husband, two cats, endure several dogs live in western Seattle on a half suppress on a greenbelt.

“We maintain a 9-acre tract of area behind my studio that enquiry home to coyotes, barn owls, great horned owls, pileated woodpeckers, raccoons, possums, and many alternative kinds of birds,” says Ross.

All told, Ross says, “People keep always been free with their advice for me. I each listen but rarely take stirring. I’ve been told to unhook up, paint serious subjects, redness with oils, avoid ‘cute,’ senseless up, avoid certain breeds succeed expressions or poses.” But, she says, “I just paint what moves me, and I each have.”

representation

Trailside Galleries, Scottsdale, AZ, allow Jackson, WY.

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