Enjoy Maine’s June wildflower blooms with this approachable introduction to the history and methodologies of botanical painting.
Artist Suzy Kopf will demonstrate 3 scientific approaches of painting plant matter in watercolor, cover the fascinating global history of this tradition and introduce some contemporary approaches in depicting nature. Leave with a completed piece or a good start on your next mantle artwork with the confidence to keep going! No prior painting experience necessary.
All painting and drawing materials are supplied. Just bring a snack for the break and enjoy ArtWaves tea selection.
Suzy Kopf is a multidisciplinary artist who scrutinizes the paper ephemera of midcentury consumer culture to probe the enduring mythos of the American Dream. Through water media paintings, collages and site-specific installations she excavates archival materials and inherited nostalgia for utopias erected and cast aside. Vibrant colors unify her work across media and evoke the built landscape of the eroding Silicon Valley where she grew up. Conscious of how much byproduct can result from art-production, Suzy maintains a “no waste” practice, recycling materials back into her work and making her own paint from botanical materials.
Suzy has been the recipient of more than a dozen residency fellowships including the Oak Spring Garden Foundation, Kala and The Studios at Mass MoCA. Her art practice has been funded by the Hagley Museum, Baltimore National Heritage Area, the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) and the Design History Society, among others.
In addition to her studio work, Suzy is passionate about helping other artists achieve their professional goals and generate sustainable income. She has been an invited speaker at the College Art Association, The CUE Art Foundation, Artists Thrive Conference, and the Maryland State Art Council, among others. From 2015-2024 she was a contributing writer for several publications and organizations including the Baltimore Museum of Art, Johns Hopkins University Magazine, Artwork Archive, Baltimore Magazine, BmoreArt and others.
Suzy has exhibited throughout the United States and Canada including the Turchin Center, Delaware Contemporary, Spring/Break Art Fair and the Austrian Embassy in Washington, D.C. She holds an MFA from MICA.
Formerly a college professor teaching watercolor painting, professional development and museum studies at Johns Hopkins University, Maryland Institute College of Art and Anne Arundel Community College, Suzy is now exclusively working with adult learners and focusing on her own studio practice. In 2023 after sixteen years on the east coast, Suzy and her partner moved home to San Francisco to be closer to family. They enjoy walking the San Francisco hills with their two rescue pups, Theodore Roosevelt and Penny Lane.
