Studio 32: Susan Searway-Fertig

Devotedness, 2021 Susan Searway-Fertig, digital art

digital art, watercolor, photography, drawing, painting, graphic design, website design

ARTIST STATEMENT

Susan Searway-Fertig is a contemporary artist whose work resonates with themes of personal identity, experiences, memory, and the human experience, often merging elements of abstraction with figuration. Her practice is marked by an intense exploration of materials and process, giving each piece a dynamic sense of texture, movement, and emotional depth.

Searway-Fertig's work frequently incorporates mixed media, blending traditional art forms with experimental techniques. She is particularly known for her use of bold color palettes and tactile surfaces that invite viewers to engage with the physicality of the work. Whether creating digital art, large-scale paintings, drawings, or photographic works, Searway-Fertig’s art reflects a deep engagement with both the material world and the psychological spaces that shape human existence.

One hallmark of her approach is her ability to communicate complex, abstract ideas through figurative imagery. Her figures, often stylized or fragmented, seem to emerge from a vibrant, almost dreamlike background, creating a tension between the familiar and the unknown. These figures can evoke a sense of fragility, introspection, and resilience, capturing moments of emotional depth that are both personal and universal.

Searway-Fertig’s art often feels autobiographical, yet it also resonates with collective human experience. Themes of growth, transformation, movement, and the passage of time are explored through a language of color, form, and texture. Her works seem to speak of memory’s fluidity and the ways in which past experiences shape present identity. There is a sense of constant evolution in her pieces, as if each work is part of an ongoing dialogue between the artist, the materials, and the viewer.

Through her work, Susan Searway-Fertig invites us to consider the complex interplay between our inner lives and the outer world. Her art suggests that understanding ourselves is an ongoing process, one that is constantly evolving and changing, much like the fluid, shifting surfaces and forms she creates.

BIO

Since graduating from Dominican University of California with a Bachelor of Fine Arts emphasis in Digital Art and a Bachelor of Arts in Art History in 2004, I started up my own company Susan Searway Art & Design in 2006.

The art side of my business is my passion—producing, selling, and exhibiting my artwork. I am what you call a true Fine Artist, which means I work in a variety of media. Currently I work in digital art, watercolor, photography, drawing, and painting but I am always open to new techniques to convey my thoughts and feelings.

My design side of my company provides Marketing Materials as Fine Art through graphic design, website design, and social media strategy. Whether you need marketing materials for print, email campaign, social media posts, or a website, I do it all. I find the field very gratifying and challenging to create new compositions every day for my clients.

I try to capture the essence of my subject by focusing on their lines, patterns, textures, forms, colors, and shapes. My hope is to find a unique perspective in all my work.