Susan Walker
Oil Painter
Bio: Susan is a painter based in Issaquah. She has a BFA in Studio Art from the University of California, Davis, where she studied with mentor Wayne Thiebaud. Her career took her into education for 22 years, including as principal of Cougar Ridge Elementary School until 2000, when she pivoted back to her original calling. Susan completed a two-year residency program at the University of Washington in Drawing & Painting and she also teaches at Happy Time Studio. Her paintings are in corporate collections and private residences across the country.
On switching careers: “I never looked back.”
On tropes about artsy types: “I really don't like the flaky artist stereotype because I have a tremendous work ethic, a tremendous amount of professionalism.”
On what art has given her: “The absolute solitude of the studio. It’s like an awake meditation. Now that our kids are all grown and gone, I really desire that private time to feed my soul outside of being a grandmother, a wife, a mother, all those other titles that are a good part of my life.”
On creative blocks: “It's important to keep going to the studio and just get the hands moving. It's so hard when you're in that rut to believe, because it feels like you're not going to ever get out of it. You've just got to have the faith that the corner turns.”
Hometown: Bay Area, California
Her favorite place near Issaquah: The tennis courts at the Bellevue Club.
Find Susan:
