Susan Tobey White is a painter and sculptor whose canvases of vibrant dancers inspire smiles and laughter. In 2010 she has added a Vegetable Series of luscious colors. Tomatoes that you feel can be picked from the canvas. Eggplants and peppers that seem to do a dance of their own. From professional dancers to people who are dancers at heart, Susan's work is continually praised for the feeling of well being it evokes. As a former elementary art teacher, Susan's has created work strongly influenced by the the colors and symbols of children's art.
Her colorful and expressive Dancing the Night Away series is inspired by women's need to 'create a place of their own.' Scenes of impassioned dancers in crowded dance halls, swinging to their own rhythms, summon nostalgic times and practically dance right off the canvas.
In 2010 she begain a new series of large Vegetable and Fruit Paintings which has evolved to the theme growing, harvesting, preparing, serving and eating Food.
Her love of Maine and the area she lives is evident in her colorful landscapes and paintings of people. In the summer of 2002 Susan created a place of her own when she opened HIGH STREET STUDIO AND GALLERY in Belfast, Maine. In the studio she maintains her position as an arts educator, leading workshops in drawing, painting and sculpture as well as having her own work on display in the gallery.
In 2009 Sheep Jones and Julie Cyr have joined her in the gallery.
Susan received her BA in Art Education at Southern Connecticut State College. She and her husband moved to Maine from Northeastern Connecticut in 1975. They purchased 40 acres of land, built their own home and raised all their food. (even to the point of grinding flour and making butter) They lived in that home for 12 years where they raised their 3 children. When education and proximity to schools became more of a concern they moved to Belfast.
Susan taught elementary art for 15 years in MSAD 34 (Belfast area schools) during which she participated in numerous arts and crafts workshops.
In the past 10 years Susan has taught Watercolor classes and workshops in her studio and through the Elderhostel program. Currently she teaches Watercolor and Acriylic Workshops during the winter at her studio and has scheduled Plein Air workshops during the summer.
Her work is in private collections throughout the United States, in Canada, Europe and Australia.