Aziza Abbasi
November & December 2020 Exhibit
Aziza Abbasi was born and raised in Pakistan and has been a creative since childhood. She moved to the United States in the year 2000 and attended Kendall College of Art and Design, earning her degree in illustration. People and children are her main source of inspiration. Children and their innocence, energy and purity give her joy and instills in her hope in life. This is reflected in her work. Her mediums are oils and watercolor and she is drawn to cityscapes and street scenes as well as portraits and still life.
Aziza and her family reside in Spring Lake, Michigan. She has competed in local and regional competitions, winning many Honorable Mentions. She has been jury selected in the Michigan Regional Exhibition for three consecutive years and took Second Place in Artwalk 2017. She is a member of Lakeshore Visual Arts Collective and Woman Made Gallery in Chicago, Illinois.
Aziza’s Artist Statement:
My name is Aziza Abbasi. I am an illustrator, and have earned by BFA degree from Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I am passionate about painting people and places. I work in oils, acrylics, watercolor and digital media. Because I was born, raised and spent most of my life outside the United States, people find my work unusual. I describe my work as “Loud and Clear” and it’s because I use bright and warm colors in my paintings. I love life and people, so I try to enhance my feel for the surroundings and my love for the humanity in brightness and warmth of my color palette. A sense of movement can often be found in my work. That is because I believe in an active and busy life. Children have always been an important part of my life as I worked with them in Montessori Schools for a long time. They fascinate me in every way! They taught me more than any school could! They are inspiration for my work and my philosophy of life…. Which is move, walk, run and fly. LOVE LIFE and ENJOY LIFE
Suzanne Frederick
November & December 2020 Exhibit
Suzanne is a pastel artist who makes her home in Muskegon, Michigan with her husband David and newly adopted shelter dog “Milo”. Suzanne creates hand drawn pastel portraits of animals capturing their spirit and personality. The paintings are so lifelike they almost seem they could speak.
Love of animals started in early childhood reading every book about animals, especially horses and dogs. Growing up Suzanne was surrounded by the family pets, which helped her develop her insights to their personalities and emotions. Once out of school she was free to pursue her passion of riding.
That started a lifelong career in training and teaching dressage at her farm for over 30 years.
Her first memories of art was coloring books, paint-by-number paintings and drawing pictures of horses. But it wasn’t until she was in her fifties that she able to pursue her love of art. Taking an art class at the local community college, started her on a path that led to becoming a professional artist.
Suzanne’s work is noted for it’s realism, attention to detail and emotional impact. Although she characterizes herself as an equine or pet artist, she also enjoys painting wildlife. She finds herself working exclusively in pastels, which the rich pigments and softness bring out the subjects texture of soft fur and the stunning detail in the eyes, capturing their spirit.
Her artist goal is to capture the equine, canine, pet or wildlife animals image with vivid emotion and expressiveness. In her wildlife paintings she wants to bring to life the personalities of the animals so that the rest of us can learn to appreciate them. Her love of animals is very evident in each piece she creates.
Suzanne Frederick – Artist Statement
“Animals are the bridge between us and beauty of all that is natural. They show us whats missing in our lives, and how to love ourselves more completely and unconditionally. They connect us back to who we are, and to the purpose of why we’re here.” – Trisha McCagh
I have always had a deep love of animals, and feel a strong empathy with them. Having grown up with animals around me and making my career working with horses, gave me an insight to their personalities and spirit. After painting all manner of subjects, turning to our faithful companions, farm animals and wildlife was a natural choice.
I work extensively in pastels, which give both a softness and an intensity of color that give my subjects texture of soft fur and bring out an animals spirit through their eyes.
Happiness is working at my easel creating stunning realistic paintings, surrounded by my dogs.
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