Susan Payne

A native of Suffolk, Virginia, Susan Payne has spent much of her life immersed in the arts, both as an educator and an artist. Her career includes teaching art in Virginia Beach and Charlotte, as well as serving as an Adjunct Instructor at Old Dominion University. She holds a BS and MAE in Art Education and earned National Board Certification in Art Education.

Now a resident of Boone, Susan spends her time painting, quilting, and even playing banjo with her local “Banjo Buddies.” She especially enjoys painting en plein air, finding inspiration along the back roads, mountaintops, and neighboring communities of Boone, Blowing Rock, and the greater High Country.

Her recent work focuses on capturing the region’s “local color.” The mountains provide an ever-changing subject as shifts in weather continually transform the landscape’s color, light, and shadow. Working in acrylics and oils, Susan often pushes color beyond what she sees in front of her, using it to capture the emotions, memories, and sense of place she associates with the mountain community.

Susan has exhibited throughout the High Country and surrounding region, including at the Blowing Rock Art & History Museum (BRAHM), Edgewood Cottage, Ashe County Arts Council, and Florence Thomas Art School. She has also participated in artist residencies at Wildacres, where she immersed herself in painting the changing weather and scenery surrounding Little Switzerland, and has served for several years as an Edgewood Cottage Resident Artist in Blowing Rock.

For Susan, living and creating in the mountains has provided an ongoing opportunity to develop her own artistic voice while connecting with fellow artists, patrons, and others who share her appreciation for the arts.