of the Expressionist Cunningham won a coveted first prize in one of Paris ’ famous salons and has a piece hanging in the Louvre collection .
With solid support and strong family influences , Susan followed her dream of painting fine art . During this time she also married and had a son . It was at this point things began to change . Her husband decided to go to San Jose State . He packed up his family and moved to Cupertino . Susan wanted to continue pursuing her fine art degree at San Jose State . After the move it didn ’ t seem possible , however , having two full-time university students in the family while waiting for a GI Bill to arrive .
Her son was just a baby , and money was nonexistent . “ I didn ’ t have anything to feed my eighteen month old son ,” said Susan . Desperate for work , she fell back on something she had pursued in high school : window painting . Little did she know that this would be the defining moment that would set the course of her life for the next forty years .
She gathered her art supplies and walked from store to store asking if she could paint their windows for Halloween . She received a lot of strange looks and rejection . Dejected but not one to give up easily , Susan walked into a salon to give it one more try . The salon owner said business had been slow and she couldn ’ t really afford it . That didn ’ t stop Susan .
She continued to press the owner . “ ‘ It ’ s like a greeting to your customers and an attention grabber for those shopping in the center .’ She asked me what I would do and how much I would charge . I meekly said , ‘ five dollars . I will paint a spooky tree , jack-o-lanterns and maybe a ghost or two .’ ” That convinced the salon owner who was so impressed after the fact that she offered to do Susan ’ s hair for free to augment her meager fee . Some of the salon ’ s regular customers were shop owners and , after seeing her work , also hired her . That was the beginning of Susan ’ s career . Not fine art , but at least she was an artist .
As Christmas rolled around it proved to be a lucrative season . Susan made enough money to pay for college and feed her family . The work was “ flexible , lucrative and fun . I put myself through college with what I earned . Later , when my husband and I moved to San Martin I restarted the business in Morgan Hill , San Martin and Gilroy retail stores . I always said that my husband made the bread and I made the gravy .”
Her “ gravy ” is well known throughout Santa Clara County ’ s business community , as well as in thousands of Bay Area homes . Over time Susan expanded her window painting talent into wall murals and faux painting . In the last few years she ’ s worked at Gilroy Gardens as the resident artist painting everything from murals , windows and signs , to detailed restoration on the carousel horses . Her dream of someday pursuing fine art and showing her work in galleries continued to haunt her , however .
With the opening of the new Art in the Park Gallery at Gilroy Gardens , Susan ’ s dream resurfaced . “ For most of my life , for everything I created , I knew I would get paid . Now
that I am sixty-six years old , I think it is about time I paint what I want to paint and not worry about getting paid .”
With images floating through her mind of children on carousel horses , summer landscapes , wild flowers and grasses waving in the breeze , Susan has once again taken up her art supplies to step out in a new direction seeking to fulfill her lifelong desire . Now after more than fifty years it looks like her dream of becoming a fine artist is finally coming true .
Gilroy Gardens Art in the Park Program
In an effort to support the arts , Gilroy Gardens recently redesigned their gift shop to include a fine art gallery known as Art in the Park . The program will feature fine art for sale created by artists who participate in the program .
• Located inside Red Barn Gifts .
• Now open and available for display of “ Art in the Park ” creation .
• All art created inside Gilroy Gardens or art related to Gilroy Gardens will be considered for exhibition in the gallery .
• The month of June will feature Photography Art taken by the Morgan Hill Photography Club and Wire Tree Sculptures by Earnest Brooks .
For more information contact : ( 408 ) 840-7130 or ArtInThePark @ GilroyGardens . org Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park , 3050 Hecker Pass Hwy , Gilroy , CA 95020
Laura Wrede is a Gilroy freelance writer , artist , and photographer . Her award winning art and photography are shown at various online venues , galleries , and exhibits and held in private collections throughout the USA , Canada , and the UK . Her new book , My Ocean , will release this summer , 2013 .
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