Sisters artist gains statewide recognition

When you shop at Lutton's Ace Hardware store, there's a good chance the woman helping you at the checkout counter may be Susan Koch. She's good at her job, always smiling, helpful and fast on her feet. Susan is great at finding the best gardening products for your home, or tools to install them, but she's also a gifted artist who can paint flowers and landscapes as magnificent as the real thing.

For the past 15 years, Koch has been exhibiting her work in the Lawrence Gallery. Beginning January 11 through March 11, she will be the featured artist in the Lawrence Gallery's Sheridan location.

"It's in the heart of the wine country," said Koch.

The wine country and ocean front landscapes are some of Koch's favorite subjects, along with still lifes and floral paintings.

When she's not teaching yoga at Cascade Fitness on Monday nights and working close to full-time at Lutton's, Koch has been creating new paintings for the gallery show.

"Right now I have six new pieces and another 10 to 12 finished works," said Koch.

There's nothing like a little pressure to get the creative juices flowing. Koch has been using every spare moment she can to complete all her pieces for the show,

"A show is great inspiration for creativity," she said on her lunch break from Lutton's. "I only had three months' notice to put this show together."

Luckily, her experience teaching yoga helps to keep her grounded and calm.

"I've been teaching yoga for 10 years now; it really keeps me sane," she said.

Koch's recently finished products look far from rushed. Vineyard scenes, minutely detailed images of birds and a fly fisherman casting into a sun-drenched river are hallmarks of her attention to detail in a medium that demands patience and skill. Landscapes are drenched in sunlight, with a nostalgic feel of quieter times when long walks at an unhurried pace were rejuvenating to both body and spirit.

"I try to convey to the viewer a place of familiarity or belonging, a feeling of being home," said Koch.

Koch's love for painting began at an early age.

"As far back as I can remember, I was intrigued with drawing what I saw. I always knew that painting was what I would do with my life and I was determined to go to art school."

She went on to study life drawing and watercolor at the American Academy of Art in Chicago, Illinois.

"I was privileged to study watercolor under the late Irving Shapiro, one of the truly great watercolor artists of our time," said Koch.

Koch became a professional artist as soon as she graduated from art school, even if it wasn't quite as glamorous as she'd hoped.

"My first job out of art school was doing designs for Yellow Pages Ads," said Koch. "That seemed to be what everybody did first thing out of school." Her next move was just as typical for the times; she started a family. "I was able to keep painting while I was raising my kids, but there were a few years after my second child that I had to put the brushes aside."

Once her second daughter started school, Koch resumed her painting.

"Art has always been my passion," said Koch. "I have to do it; it's too much a part of me. I've tried to quit and I couldn't do it. I finally realized, I'll never retire, because I'll always be painting."

Over the years, Koch has lived from one side of the United States to the other. Most recently she moved to Sisters from Alpena, Michigan, where she lived for eight years. She'd previously lived in Florence, Oregon, and always enjoyed driving through Sisters.

"I always knew I'd come back to Oregon, I love it here," se said.

Sisters is a good location for Koch these days, with one daughter in Portland and another in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Currently, Koch has two Giclee prints available. Her original paintings range in price from $250 for an 8-by-8-inch piece to $1,750 for her larger works. Her paintings are collected nationwide and interest in her works is still strong.

Always ready to try new things, Koch is using a new process when she paints watercolors. She's painting on paper that's mounted on clayboard then the paper is sprayed with an archival spray to seal it. When it's framed there's no need for glass or matting, which many of her collectors like.

To learn more about Susan Koch, visit her Web site: http://www.susankoch.com. The Lawrence Gallery in Sheridan is on Highway 18 between McMinnville and Sheridan. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily. Locally, her watercolors are on display at Clearwater Gallery.