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SMCB
Studio |
| Beauty Grows in an Awakened Heart | |
Suzanne McBride
Born and raised at the edge of the hill country in Central Texas, artist Suzanne McBride has been an amateur naturalist and student of both human and animal behavior all of her life. The desire to understand the dynamics of human emotion and the power of imagination lead her on an unusual path that combines technology, mythology, and a love of nature.
Initially seeking a career among the stars - preferably as a NASA Mission
Specialist - Suzanne earned both bachelors and masters degrees in Computer
Sciences from the University of Texas at Austin. Her career in the computer
software industry, though it did not lead to life as an astronaut, did
develop her visual design skills and her discipline for working complex
projects from conception to implementation. After twelve years of creating
for clients she rarely met, Suzanne sought a more personal mode of expression
and direct emotional communication through drawing, painting and sculpture.
With an affinity for classical Greek and Roman sculpture, and a profound love for works by the High Renaissance and Baroque Masters, Suzanne selected college coursework in drawing, painting, and art history to lay a solid, classical art foundation. However, rather than earn another University degree, Suzanne elected specific training with working professional artists in their acknowledged area of expertise, including: William A. Herring of Clint, TX (drawing, composition and artistic mastery), Dr. Marilyn Todd-Daniels of Whitewright, TX (equine anatomy and color theory), massage therapist Judy August of Austin, TX (human anatomy), and Ellen Soderquist (figure drawing) and Perrin Sparks (pastel portraiture), both of Dallas, TX. Suzanne studied with and later became a colleague of the late sculptor Carl Bindhammer (Carving Arts Center in Plano, TX). Suzanne has also studied abroad both independently and under guidance in Italy, France, England and Russia.
With training completed, Suzanne built a body of work based on her love of myth and of beings four-legged and furry. Her paintings are illustrative and filled with dramatic, bright colors (as she says, "to emphasize the inner light of the critter"). Suzanne creates her paintings with mixed media (most often with watercolor, inks and colored pencil), pastels, and acrylics. Her dynamic sculptures combine elements of Renaissance realism and contemporary stylized simplicity ("reveling in the interaction between the physical and the intangible divine"). Suzanne prefers plasteline clay to create the originals for her bronze sculptures, but will also work in wood, and fired ceramic clays either as finished media or as originals for bronze. Her favorite monument project to date, the John Denver Memorial Monument, is installed at the Austin Nature and Science Center in Austin, TX.
| Education |
* Business Development, "Artist
Career Training", Aletta DeWal, telecourses 2005-2007 |
| Exhibitions | See Exhibitions page on this website. |
| Awards, Honors and Memberships | * Featured Artist for Texas
Metal Arts Festival publicity literature, Gruene, TX 2007 * Featured Artist for Annual Studio Tour, Wimberley Valley Art League, Wimberley, TX 2005 * Artist Selected for Design and Development of The John Denver Memorial Monument, The Austin Nature and Science Center, Austin, TX 2001 * "First Place Interpretive, Open Class", Southwest Wildfowl Carving Championship, Texas Wildfowl Carvers Association, Irving, TX 1998 * "Second Place Stylized", "Third Place Low Relief", Annual Spring Show, North Texas Woodcarvers Guild, Fort Worth, TX 1998 * Member, Texas Society of Sculptors, TX 2005-2007 * Exhibition Director, Wimberley Valley Art League, Wimberley, TX 2005 * Member, Wimberley Valley Art League, Wimberley, TX 2004-2005 * Member, National Wood Carvers Association, USA 1999-2001 * Secretary, Colored Pencil Society of America Dallas District Chapter 215, 1999 * Member, Colored Pencil Society of America, USA 1998-2001 * Member, Southwestern Watercolor Society, TX 1999 * Member, Richardson Civic Art Association, Richardson, TX 1999 * Member, Dallas Visual Arts Center, Dallas, TX 1997-98 |
| In the News |
See News & Press page on this website. |
 Photo by Holly Hall Wilson |
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