arts + artisans

Hemingway House Museum. Of those years in Key West, O’Neill says she did very well creatively and financially (for an artist, that is), but she missed her son, and she missed her Milford home.

“I came back here because my son Sean was here,” admits O’Neill. “He had chosen Milford as a place to live and a place to start his business— he has a brewery here in Milford with his two partners, Tribus Beer Company.”

O’Neill no longer does plein air painting since Connecticut weather is naturally less cooperative compared to Key West, and she switches back and forth between oils and acrylics depending on her mood. “I began using oils in Key West because they did not dry fast in the heat like acrylics,” she explains. Now that O’Neill paints daily in her Milford studio, she uses acrylics once again, but only for certain reasons. “I use the acrylics when I’m in a big hurry and don’t like waiting around, because they dry a lot faster.”

Today, O’Neill paints from her imagination, rather than the live scenes she used to focus on. “I’ve started to paint the four seasons too,” she says. “I really missed them while I was in Key West. Most transplants miss it when they go do there. The endless summer isn’t what

Although O’Neill paints from her imagination, you can easily spot the Milford inspiration in this piece, entitled “Turkey Day at Duck Pond.” it’s cracked up to be.”

Fans of O’Neill’s work are thankful she took that plunge into painting just over a decade ago after her long career in architecture. And those who are witness to her extraordinary talent hope to one day see her whimsical illustrations in a children’s picture book.

—Jason Marchi

To learn more about Susan O’Neill and her paintings, visit her website at https://www.susanoneillpaintings.com