Suzanne Charlton has lived an incredible life, with painting simply the last chapter in her book of accomplishments. At an early age she won music awards and graced the pages of the Saturday Evening Post and Life Magazine, as little “Sunkist Suzi,” reminding readers that “... the navel means no seeds.” As a girl she studied abroad in Italy and surfed her way through high school at Long Beach Jordan, before attending USC, where she met her husband Phil. When their first two sons Brad and Cooper were aged 2 and 6 months, she returned to full-time studies at UCI, and won a spot at the University of Madrid. The family moved to Europe, bought a Volkswagen camper, and traveled extensively before settling in Spain, where she fell in love with the Spanish language and culture. The family returned stateside for the birth of their third son, John, and Suzi received her BA (Magna cum Laude) and MA in Spanish from UCI. She taught Spanish and ESL at Mission Viejo High for fifteen years and founded the school’s Model United Nations program, which took students to homestays and debate conferences abroad and in the US. In 1983 she was named CA Teacher of the Year and that experience inspired her to work for reforms in teacher education that would improve multicultural and multilingual programs in schools. She earned a PhD in Education from Claremont Graduate School and began teaching future teachers there and at Long Beach State before finishing up her career in UCI’s School of Education. At the universities, she also directed regional teacher outreach programs for global studies and foreign language and conducted study abroad programs in Central and South America for the California Language Teachers Association and the Fulbright Foundation. For that leadership she received the CLTA Lifetime Achievement Award upon her retirement in 2008.
For Suzi retirement has brought new adventures and new interests. She sings in the Laguna Chorale, played flute in the symphony, teaches aquaexercise for the Arthritis Foundation, and shares great times with family and friends. Her photos from travels to Italy, South America, and Asia in these years have become the subjects of many of her paintings. She began painting in 2006 and knew instantly it was the creative outlet she wished to pursue.
Thank you for visiting her website and I hope you appreciate, as much as I do, the incredible work of this incredible woman.
With a little bias,
John Charlton
Footnote from the Artist:
I hope my paintings please you and inspire your imagination. I’m very grateful for the knowledge, guidance and support of my teachers: Michael Hallinan, Jim Stanaland, Donita Lloyd, John Eagle, Ken Auster, Phil Journeay, Maddine Insalacco, and Victoria Templeton. They’ve heightened my perception of the fascinating way light and shadow create form, of the beauty and interplay of colors and textures, and of the challenges of composition, design, and all the technical aspects of putting paint on canvas. These days everywhere I look there are images I want to capture in paint – beautiful landscapes and the sea, people busy at work or interacting in ways that touch me, beloved pets, picturesque towns and cottages – so many things worthy of celebration through art. I feel very lucky that I can pursue this, and encouraged by my family and friends and the new friends I’ve met through painting. Now, at the Sawdust Festival, I've learned that people outside this circle also connect with my work and enjoy having it in their homes. What a bonus!
Thanks for visiting,
Suzi Charlton
