About Susan Valentine

In 1973's movie, Soylent Green, citizens were presented an option to leave the planet voluntarily (assisted suicide) to relieve a planet burgeoning with humans. Folks who relented and opted in were sent off seeing the most glorious, immersive film depicting the planet’s former natural beauties. It put them back in that time, steeped in that natural beauty. Sure, they got turned into Soylent Green (it’s probably too late to call that a spoiler) but they all died very deeply moved by the sight, the remembrance of their gorgeous blue marble of a planet.

I often wonder: If the natural wonders of this world come to an end and I am one of the few left to help raise it from the ashes… How much of it would I be able to recall fully enough to recreate?

I’m not able to remember a single novel well enough to bring it back. I can’t build a car’s engine. I am pretty sure I don’t have what it takes to recreate any medications—no matter how life-saving—or figure out how electricity works.

BUT if I could create works to communicate the world’s visual spendors... If
I could be the one person in our small troupe of survivors who would put together works to call back the beauty that once was, I would be satisfied.

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I work from my home studio in Leverett, Massachusetts, in the Pioneer Valley. Here, I enjoy a rich community of fellow creatives.

My work represents the world around me in a pretty realistic way. I begin with photography and end with layers of thin paint. I very much enjoy working on large projects and need to cleanse my palate by then working small. In previous years I have tended to look closely and bring forth the details of small characters from my garden, then needed to balance that with sweeping landscapes. The galleries on this website represent many of the series I’ve investigated in the past 15 years.

In 2024 I am taking a year away from showing my work to allow my mind to wander. I’m looking deeper into the workings of color and spending ample time studying at New Salem’s NSMA.

Some of my work can be seen or purchased at:

Tilting at Windmills Gallery in Manchester, VT
Salmon Falls Gallery in Shelburne Falls, MA