“One should not become an artist because he can but because he must.  It is only for those who would be miserable without it.” – The Agony and The Ecstasy

Painting with my lap-dog, Raven

That is me – miserable if not making art. My Mother told me I started drawing as soon as I could hold a pencil. I will tell you that if I put a pencil down I will pick up a paint brush or some other artistic tool. 

In 1971 I received my BFA in Communication Arts and Design from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia.  After graduation I joined Model Secondary School for the Deaf in Washington, DC as the Assistant Art Director. The deaf high school students would arrive with a third grade reading level. The available high school text books would not work for them. We created our own highly illustrated booklets to cover the high school subject matter. 

In 1973 I helped a co-worker move from Washington, DC to Boulder, Colorado. When I saw the Rockies looming up from the Great Plains I was smitten. I returned to DC, turned in my resignation and moved to Colorado. I took up stained glass and opened a business designing and constructing decorative windows.

I eventually moved the stained glass studio back East and expanded it to include carving images into the glass with a sandblasting technique. My work was commissioned for James Brady, Barbara Bush, the Garden Court in Jordan’s Royal Palace, as well as restaurants and private homes. Dover Books made an offer for a book of my stained glass designs.

Sabrina's owner picking up her portrait

The glass work started taking a toll on me physically. Even though I wore protection, my lungs hurt from sand-blasting and breathing oleic acid. My fingers tips were losing feeling from so many cuts and my back ached from bending over all day. I also had concerns about my wounded fingers working with lead. It was time to move on.

From the very beginning I had continued to draw and paint, constantly showing and selling my work and winning awards.  In 1994 I was juried into the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Old Town Alexandria, VA. Here the studios were open to the public providing exposure to collectors from around the world.  Representatives from the School of Art Museum in Buenos Aires, Argentina and the United States State Department visited and purchased my paintings.

I am inspired by diverse cultures and love to visit other countries. My foreign travels so far have included Australia, the Caribbean, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Greece, India, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Mexico, Nepal, New Zealand, Peru, Syria and Turkey.

Creating art has helped me through difficulties, illnesses and grief. A certain peace comes over me when I work out a composition. Whether with brush, stylus or camera, making art is my obsession, my addiction, and my medicine. What medium I use does not matter. To me, the creative process is the best and most enjoyable part. During a creative binge, I am transported to another world where, occasionally, I may have an enlightening interlude with a profound thought. It’s very stimulating!  It is my greatest pleasure and vital to my peace of mind.  I have been called an Artist’s Artist.

SOLO AND INVITATIONAL EXHIBITS

• May 2009: glave kocen gallery
• March 2007: “6” Invitational, Gallery 222, Leesburg, Virginia
• May 22, 2004: “Where Does the Music Take You?”, Featured Artist in Alexandria Symphony Orchestra’s
• April 2004: “Contemporary Realism” Invitational, Fraser Gallery, Bethesda, Maryland
• April 2004: “Celebration of Women: Vision and Movement” Invitational, Edison Place Gallery, Washington DC
• February 2002: “Susan Makara”, Solo Retrospective at Gold Fish Galleries, Sarasota, Florida
• October 2001: Solo “Stones” at Main Street Art Gallery, Richmond, Virginia
• April thru June 1998: “Botanicals Up Close and Personal”, Solo show sponsored by Greater Reston Arts Center, Reston,Virginia
• November 1995: Solo “Faces” at the Art League, Alexandria, Virginia

HONORS

Received numerous awards in national and international juried shows including Perry House Gallery, Alexandria, VA; Target Gallery, Alexandria, VA; Art League, Alexandria, VA; Beaufort County Arts Council’s National Art Exhibition, North Carolina.

COLLECTIONS:

Represented in over 1000 private and public collections including:

• Barbara Bush
• James Brady
• Jordan’s late King Hussein
• School of Art Museum, Buenos Aries
• US State Department

PERIODICALS

• 2010: Best of America Oil Painters annual publication
• March 2001: Painting featured in Art & Antiques magazine article “Old Town Elegance”
• 1997: Included in “Washington’s Best Emerging Talent for 1997”, KOAN magazine
• November 1995: Paintings appeared on cover and reviewed in Dimensions magazine
• Fall 1982: Work appeared in American Art Glass Quarterly magazine