Susan Luckey Higdon

Known for her honest, interpretive work informed by Central Oregon’s  interesting light and color, the self-taught artist who created a local cooperative is now gravitating toward the abstract.

Like many artists, Susan Luckey Higdon sees things that others don’t. She points to a ponderosa pine outside her living room window in southwest Bend and says most people see a tree; she sees a rainbow of color and shades of light and dark. The self-taught artist and member of Tumalo Art Co. in the Old Mill District has been pulling inspiration from the Central Oregon landscape for twenty-five years. She started painting while working full time as a graphic designer and raising a family. We ask the local artist about paints, pastels, and what it takes to “see” the Central Oregon landscape.

Photo by Talia Galvin

What brought you to Central Oregon and when did you start painting landscapes?
I moved to Central Oregon from the Eugene area over 30 years ago to be an art director for a magazine. About 24 years ago, while still working as an art director in an advertising agency and with two young children, I began to paint landscapes-mostly to do something completely from my right brain and for myself. I started out using soft pastel because they were easy to get out and put away…I would paint in any short block of time that I could carve out. I didn’t have a studio to work in at that time.

Tell us a little bit about your studio. What do you like the most about your workspace?
My studio is not that large but I use every inch of it and can work on very big pieces, and a couple of paintings at once, if I want to. It is attached to my home in such a way that I can be involved in what is going on, but still be “away”. This was important while my kids were growing up…now not so much, but I still love the connection. It has great light with big windows and is a very peaceful space for me. I have also given myself permission to let it be messy.

What’s the one color you couldn’t paint without and why?
I mix all of the colors I use in my paintings from the three primary colors, rarely adding a color outside of those. So, I couldn’t do without any of them! As far as colors that are dominant in my work, there are a lot of blues and I love a very pale, warm yellow. The color of the grasses in winter in Central Oregon. And then that hit of aqua on a ridge line. Capturing the color of deep water and sky is an ongoing challenge.

For you, what’s one of the hardest things to paint?
One of the reasons I paint so much water—above and below the surface, is not only because it is mesmerizing to me, but because it’s so challenging.

Describe your creative process- where do your best ideas for paintings come from?
When I am out, I take photos of the things that catch my eye. Usually patterns, shapes with color, or light that is hitting the landscape in an unusual way. I work the compositions until I like what is happening, either in photoshop or by physically folding and refolding an enlargement. What interests me most is to abstract reality using composition, which creates a little bit of friction, causing the landscape to be viewed in a slightly different way. I have to be able to “see” the essence of what I want to capture using paint. Then I can do it. Sometimes that feeling of being able to “see” it is very fleeting.