Susan Greenstein

Susan Greenstein’s watercolors unfold like pages of a visual diary, tracing city streets, quiet gardens, interiors, and still lifes. In Brooklyn or abroad, she paints within the pulse of place—the hum of traffic, shifting light, stray conversations weaving into her brushstrokes. Working without sketches, her gestures remain fluid, alive with spontaneity. Inspired by Wolf Kahn, David Hockney, and Lois Dodd, she interprets architecture, shadow, and form with lyrical freedom. Whether outdoors in fleeting light or within the quiet of her studio, each painting becomes both observation and meditation, keeping her practice fresh, immediate, and deeply attuned to the world.

In this new series, my work focuses on the natural gesturing and frequent surprises I find within the trees that serve as my models. Within this series of small paintings, the work takes you through my experience of a year, focusing on transformation of shape and form. Using the fluidity and transparency of watercolor, I'm interested in portraying depth through energetic brushstrokes, areas of brilliant color offset by neutral tones, and a just-enough amount of detail. My free but deliberate touches create a system of unique moments that tell the story of seasons. The goal is a sensitive documentation of the natural world. My watercolors are a slight departure from my interest in the relationship between nature and man-made structures. I began this yearlong project last fall after examining the work of Arthur Kvarnstrom and his Haiku in Paint series. As the project evolved, Haiku in Paint became a doorway for myself, not a way out but the entry to my own voice. One of the most enjoyable aspects of this tree series is that it is just about a moment and my relationship with that specific tree at that time. Just as the season effects change in each tree, I so enjoy seeing the smaller changes that occur day to day and week to week.