Featured Artist: Susan Gross

My Background: I was always painting, drawing, and collecting things....even in high school I was making movies & animated films. I spent a year at Sonoma State University learning about being more of a hippie, water coloring, film making, and Howard Hawks & Frank Capra. Then I had to get serious...I went to Art Center in Pasadena, and the stress of the experience made me hate drawing for awhile. I became a Graphic & Package Designer. I spent about 7 to 10 years wondering if this was really for me. I've worked for all sorts of inspiring people such as Steve Tolleson and Michael Mabry. I also did packaging and toy design. Each experience gave me a new and different perspective...however, I dreamed of other things, (lots of things,) and I decided to make a change. I quit my job, packed a bag, & went overseas for a year. I came back, continued working on some personal illustrations, and happily (& luckily) landed a fantastic freelance job- doing illustrations for an animated film for Phillips Electronics. I've been illustrating/painting/mono printing and collaging ever since.

My Technique: I use many techniques- I really love the brainstorming stage- sketches, sketches, sketches. I always seem to have a ton of ideas. I work in a number of media, watercolor and ink, acrylic, collage, a bit of pastel, and more recently- oil-based mono prints. (One might say a newer or different "style" for me.)

My Involvement in the Guild: I've been very involved with the Guild for a few years now. I was National Representative, so I've represented our Chapters' views on issues at our annual conventions. I also have been very involved in planning numerous events, notably the star-studded, fantabulous "Makes No Sense" event, which brought a much needed awareness to the community regarding unfair and unethical contracts. I also do my best to spread the word about the Guild, our issues, our solidarity & community to other artists. I can even say I'm responsible for recruiting quite a few members!

My Favorite Client story: I'm lucky to have some wonderful clients. I recently completed a few fantastic projects for Hadassah in New York. My first project was illustrating a book they were publishing for Women. The artwork consisted of a 4-color full bleed, front & back cover, with conceptual illustrations as chapter dividers. I really loved working with the Art Director there, we were able to brainstorm together quite effectively and I really enjoyed the process! Evidently the book project went over pretty well because I was then asked to illustrate a "Growth chart" for kids, and some very unique greeting cards. Being that I'd love to do more work for the children's market, I was extremely excited. What we ended up with is a wacky, 3 foot tall tree filled with fun creatures, surrounded by animated bugs & flowers. (You get the picture!) In addition, we created leaf stickers (that illustrate things like "first haircut" and "first lost tooth" ) to place on the tree to mark the child's current height.

All artwork © 2002 Susan Gross. Not to be used without permission.