Susan Semenick was born in 1948 in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. She had early success with the arts as a child and was encouraged by her mother and father. Susan’s mother was a gifted artist and Susan remembers going into her mother’s studio and watching the progression of a subject in her mother’s capable hands. Susan excelled in art in high school and felt that this was where her expertise began. Her parents, however, encouraged her to follow another path where she was sure of being self-sufficient, teaching. Her second interest was biology. She attended Lock Haven University for a Bachelor’s and got a Master’s in biology at Purdue in Indiana where she moved after marrying. While at Lock Haven, Susan took several classes as a senior in painting, drawing and printmaking. The art professors all called a meeting to ask if Susan wouldn’t consider pursuing art instead of biology. Money wouldn’t allow a change of major so late in her education. So, Susan went on to teach biology in Indiana for 33 years.

After retiring, Susan opened her own art gallery in Danville, IN and also become a member of the prestigious Stutz Artists Association serving as a board member. Susan began with portrait and figure, a subject that is and has remained one of her favorites. She has seen significant success with this subject. However, landscapes have proven to be the subject that garners the most sales. So often, watercolors are small, delicate pieces of work. Susan likes to dispel that idea with large, bold pieces. Using multiple washes and glazes, she builds intense color that is quoted as being her most unique component of her landscapes. Susan awakens every day with a penchant for the start of another painting. She loves the freedom that retirement has afforded her.

Susan creates her works using watercolor on paper.