The acrylic stained canvases emphasize color and the energetic gestural application of pigment. The free flowing layers of transparency are achieved by suspending sloped unprimed canvas. Thin mixtures of acrylic pigment are poured onto the canvas. One tour of poured pigment flows on top of another and then another – overlapping on previously applied layers of wet paint resulting in transparency similar to watercolor technique. Wet paint on dry areas leave crisp edges while wet on wet technique results in a delightful bleeding effect.

Susan’s technique evolves from a history of artists known as Color-field Painters including Jackson Pollack, Helen Frankenthaler and Morris Louis.

Susan’s interactive process may best be described as a dialogue. In Susan’s approach there is “no pentimento” or “repentance.” The studio process is a dialogue between the artist and the visible result of each successive step and course of action. Therefore, the painting practice is like life. When a decision is made about the action it sets into motion all that follows. This dynamic is exhilarating because the outcome is known only in part. One trusts the parts will result in a wholeness orchestrated by the practiced experience of the artist.

While nature may be the springboard for Kattas subject matter, it is “re-envisioned” and “expanded upon” to achieve a greater sense of the whole.