Susan Blubaugh

"It is both a meditative and a sensual process for me to paint what I see. I hope, as a result, those who see my pictures will be inspired to look at the beauty of their surroundings a little differently and also to work to protect open space and the fragile world around us."
-Susan Blubaugh

Susan Blubaugh believes that painting is a way of intensifying her experience of the natural world. An Ohio native, Blubaugh settled in New York City in 1975 and studied painting at the Art Students League and the National Academy of Design. Following that, she worked as an illustrator for over two decades. In 2001, along with colleague Joe Ciardiello, she moved to Hunterdon County, New Jersey and, as she says, "I was inspired by the beauty of the landscapes I saw here and so began painting in earnest." Drawing on the area's rich artistic tradition, Blubaugh primarily paints in oils, her most common subject being the natural surroundings of her home in Milford, New Jersey and scenes from across the Delaware River in Bucks County. She jokingly refers to herself as a "tree portraitist" as she finds herself increasingly drawn to the unique linear elements of trees as subjects for her work. Blubaugh has exhibited locally at the Coryell Gallery in Lambertville, New Jersey and Phillips' Mill in New Hope, where she has received several awards.

Education
Art Students League and National Academy of Design, New York, NY, 1980-1992
Columbus College of Art & Design, Columbus, OH, 1970-1975

Teachers and Influences
Taught by Isaac Soyer, Burton Silverman, Hilary H. Holmes, Harvey Dinnerstein, and Curtis Hanson

Blubaugh considers all of her teachers strong influences upon her work, including Robert Andrew Parker, David Fertig, and Joe Ciardiello.

Colleagues
Joe Ciardiello, Emily Thompson, George Thompson, Peter Hunt, Simon Mauer, John Kane

Connection to Bucks County
Since 2001, Blubaugh has lived in Milford, NJ and often chooses scenes from Bucks County, just across the Delaware River from her home, as subjects for her paintings.

Exhibitions
Solo Exhibition, Des Champs Gallery, Lambertville, NJ, 2008, 2010
The Real, the Abstract, the Art of Hunterdon: An Invitational Exhibition of Hunterdon County Artists, Prallsville Mill, Stockton, NJ, 2009
Art of the Flower Show Exhibition, Philadelphia Sketch Club, Philadelphia, PA, 2008
Phillips' Mill Annual Juried Exhibition, Phillips' Mill, New Hope, PA, 2007-2009
Plein Air Easton!, Easton, MD, 2007
Bucks County Juried Plein Air Paint Out, Sabine Rose Gallery, Doylestown, PA, 2007
Lambertville Historical Society Juried Show, Coryell Gallery, Lambertville, NJ, 2006-2009
Hunterdon County Cultural & Heritage Commission Exhibit, Prallsville Mill, Stockton, NJ, 2006

Traditional Bucks County Landscape Award, Phillips' Mill Annual Juried Exhibition, 2008
Award for Best Traditional Oil Painting, Phillips' Mill Annual Juried Exhibition, 2007
Woolverton Inn Award, Hunterdon County Cultural & Heritage Commission Exhibit, Prallsville Mill, Stockton, NJ, 2006