February 21 – April 3, 2025
Opening Reception: Thursday, February 27. Presentation 11:30 a.m.; Reception 12:30 p.m.
BRCC Fine Arts Center V121 Gallery
Susan Rosen: https://susancraverosenart.com/
Karen Rosasco: https://www.karenrosasco.com/
Susan Rosen
I am definitely a late-bloomer. I started painting when my husband and I moved to Virginia in 1994 from Long Island. I learned from books and workshops. I was an English major in college, worked as a sportswear buyer for a major department store before having children, and became a realtor after my boys were in school. My creative outlet was music. I studied voice and sang with a regional opera company and the Long Island Philharmonic. My husband and I sailed for 30 years and spent two to three weeks each summer sailing with our boys on LI Sound and in New England waters. All of these experiences have influenced my work as a painter. I am grateful for my life!
Susan Crave Rosen
Artist statement
My paintings are not planned, but evolve like a roadtrip with no destination in mind. They start with a mark…..a piece of collage, a brushstroke or line. They are asymmetrical and imbalanced…..filled with hidden images and ambiguous marks.
I work in layers of acrylic paint and collage using many tools….not just brushes or collage fodder. Trowels, putty knives, old credit cards, squeegees, handmade stamps , stencils and all kinds of drawing materials are used to make marks and manipulate paint, whether I am creating papers to be torn up and glued, or painting directly on canvas or board.
This body of work is entirely collage, in an attempt to use some of the hundreds of papers I have made over the last several years. Most have been painted or printed on a gel plate…..some found in magazines, newspapers, packaging material, etc.
I enjoy the challenge of designing with paper….choosing just the right piece torn from my stash! Like painting with acrylic, if there is something that doesn’t work, I can just cover it up…..no pressure, just fun!
Karen Rosasco, AWS
Text from Karen’s website at https://www.karenrosasco.com/about.html
I am an award-winning watermedia artist and have provided art instruction for adults in both evening courses and workshops for nearly thirty years. As a retired high school art teacher and self-described shape maker, I emphasize design and composition as the foundation for the symbols placed on paper or canvas. I’m also an avid traveler, searching for new and unusual subjects as themes for my paintings.
In 2020, I became a Signature Member of the American Watercolor Society. My prize-winning art work has been accepted in regional and national juried shows including the American Watercolor Society, Salmagundi Club and Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Exhibitions in NYC and can be found in private and corporate collections in the USA (General Electric, Harcourt Brace Education Testing, Price Chopper), Europe and South America. The Arkell Art Museum purchased one of my paintings for their contemporary collection and in 2006 I was awarded Best of Show at the Cooperstown, NY Regional Show “Essentials”. In addition, I was awarded the Silver Medal for second place in the 2007 American Watercolor Society International Exhibition in NYC out of 1400 entries.
Articles and painting reproductions of my work have appeared in national publications including: The Palette, Southwest Art, and American ArtistWatercolor magazines. You can view my paintings at: Abend Gallery, Denver CO, the Departure Gift Shop, Albany International Airport, SVAC, CoArt Gallery, Flying Fox Vineyards, Reid Street Gallery. and by appointment at my home in VA.
I graduated from the State University of NY at New Paltz with an honors degree in Art Education. I taught high school art for over 30 years helping students develop portfolios for the top design schools in the nation. During this time, I also earned over 50 graduate credit hours and taught adults in evening courses for over 25 years. After retiring from public school instruction, I continue to teach adult classes and give week-long watermedia workshops in the US and Canada.
