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Artist Sue Krzyston believes that the Southwestern and Native American artifacts featured in her ultra-realistic oil paintings represent the soul of the people who created them. “I strive to capture that feeling on canvas by using the nuance and essence of an object and utilize the effects of light and shadow to depict the beautiful and varied textures of each item that I select for my compositions,” Krzyston explains. “Light is so important in making the artifacts relate to each other. I try to make the inanimate objects come alive in the glowing warmth of the light.” Krzyston’s journey as an artist began in 1981, shortly after she quit her career selling furniture. “I decided, as a hobby, to start to oil paint,” Krzyston says. “I took a painting class at an adult center and learned how to mix oil paints. I did that for just a few lessons.” She then began to develop her own painting techniques by way of reading books, visiting museums and browsing art galleries — honing her talent every step of the way. “When I first started painting, I was doing landscapes and some portraits,” Krzyston says. “Then my husband and I purchased a new home with many empty walls. My husband said that we needed paintings for those walls. Since I had started collecting Native American pottery and other Southwestern artifacts, he suggested that I try to do a painting of one of those pots.” With that, the artist had discovered her niche. A single painting of a pot grew into many others featuring the various Southwestern and Native American artifacts that Krzyston had collected over the years.
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