Susan Cafarelli Burke Fine Art

Susan Cafarelli Burke

Scotts Valley, CA - United States

EVERY PAINTING HAS A PRAYER. READ IT IN EACH PAINTING'S DESCRIPTION. . . . .
One of Susan’s earliest memories, at five years old, was her self-portrait in finger paints. She loved the feeling of paint on her fingers and creating something that became art. She also remembers, while laying in her sleeping bag camping, looking up between the trees and suddenly falling through the sky. It was hard to tell if you were looking up or looking down. This was her first experience of visual transcendence. “It wasn’t until many years later that this experience made sense to me.” While on a trip to Europe after college, she once again had a deep experience while viewing the Mona Lisa at the Louvre. “ I remember that just after viewing the painting for about 30 seconds I had this experience of oneness where I became a drop of water plopping myself into a lake from very high place. I was one with everything, and then in a split second I was back viewing the Mona Lisa. I sat back on my heels and thought, ‘Oh, that must be why they call it the girl with the mystic smile.’ I have thought about that moment many times over the years. It taught me the power of art.”

After that experience Susan decided to study art and earned an AA in graphic Arts. She worked for fifteen years designing promotional marketing materials. She later studied and received an MA in Theology and Art and became a humanities instructor. After nine years teaching she decided to become a full-time artist and finished off her AA with a BFA in Art.

She now works as a full-time painter in her studio in Scotts Valley, California. Each painting begins with a prayer that is attached to the finished painting. Her subjects and vision involve the Native American Medicine Wheel, shamanism, the natural world, myth, symbolism, feminism, environmentalism, and theology. Susan is comfortable working in oils, acrylics, and pastels but has a special affinity for watercolor.

“ I have loved all my various experiences from designing brochures, to teaching comparative religions. My history and interests continue to feed and contribute to my artistic growth. I realize now, that fine art combined with spirituality is where I feel the most alive.”

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS:

Totem Animals- solo , Scotts Valley Library, Scotts Valley,CA
Oct 20, 2011- Feb 3, 2012

Works On Paper, National Exhibit, juror Preston Metcalf, Santa Cruz Art League, Santa Cruz, CA
Oct 22- Nov 20, 2011

R. Blitzer Gallery North County Preview Exhibit OS 2011, Santa Cruz . CA
Sept 23-Oct 16, 2011

Santa Cruz Art League Preview Exhibit for OS 2011, Santa Cruz, CA
Sept 25 – Oct 16, 2011.

2011 Open Studios Art Tour , Santa Cruz County, CA, juried
Oct 12 & Oct 15-16, 2011

Les Dudes and Demoiselles of Santa Cruz,solo, Scotts Valley Library Opening, Scotts Valley, CA
June 17- Nov3, 2011

Selected pieces on exhibit in Vice President of Instruction Office, San Jose State University, San Jose , California
November 15 –May 15, 2010

Nature, Spirit, and Sacred Space
Art Building, Gallery 3, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA
Oct 12-16, 2009