DeSanna, Sue
E S DeSanna
5018 Route 213
Olivebridge NY 12461
845-657-6282
desanna@earthlink.net
Biography
E S DeSanna paints mostly landscapes en plein air. Pastel is her primary medium, the splendor of the Hudson Valley her sustaining inspiration. Wanderlust takes her to Europe nearly every summer, where she has painted in England and across northern and central Italy. She prefers a rural landscape for her paintings, often playing natural forms against manmade – roads, fields, or structures - and she usually paints in the hours when shadows are long, and light is soft and warm. Though she works in soft pastel, she applies her pigment thickly on a coarse ground, giving a painterly effect. The artist also translates her study of the landscape to print. She has long loved the spontaneous aspect of monotypes, and has embarked on an exploration of more formal printmaking.
She has received awards for her work in printmaking and pastels, and shows extensively throughout the Hudson Valley. She earned a degree in art from SUNY New Paltz, and has studied at School of Visual Arts in NYC, Woodstock School of Art, and Il Chiostro in Tuscany. She served as vice-president of the Hudson River Watercolor Society, and is an active member of Woodstock Artists Association, Marbletown Arts Association and Arts Society of Kingston. She has taught pastel workshops at Mohonk Mountain House, for small groups around the valley, and in Italy, and was on the Fashion Design faculty at Marist College for more than 20 years.
Artist’s Statement
“I paint outdoors to force concentration, to achieve a rapid, lucid response to the parameters set by the changing light, to clear my vision... I have taken to traveling to distant locales, paints in hand, to use the novelty of location to insist on a more intense concentration. A change of scene sharpens my vision and forces extreme focus. But every outing is an adventure. Atmosphere and light effect a mood and sense of place that I try to capture in my work. Even the most familiar sight can be especially alluring in certain weather or light conditions.”
