Email Brehme at: brehme@graphicspark.org

MODERN EXPRESSIONISM

Susan Brehme Park is a Modern Expressionism artist, based on the early 20th century movement of Expressionism. Expressionist artists "express" themselves, whether to convey political views, angst, or other emotions. They create their works of art in any number of methods. Brehme uses both impressionistic, thick brush strokes as well as more realistic methods.

Author Benedikt Taschen explained that Expressionism was first coined in 1911 by art dealer Paul Cassirer in describing Edvard Munch's work, so as to separate his work from those of the impressionists. The term has been used to describe not only art, but also music, architecture, theater, and books. Other painters included in this category are Max Breckman, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Oskar Kokoschka, Marianne von Werefkin, Wassily Kandinsky, and Otto Mueller.

BIOGRAPHY

Having married late in life, Susan Brehme Park paints under her maiden name of Brehme.

Since Brehme was a child of 6-years old, she has painted and created fine art. In 1976 at the age of 10, she won a full scholarship to attend the prestigious Reynolda Gardens summer art program in Winston-Salem, NC. In 1986, she was accepted to the free Governor's School of North Carolina art program in Laurenburg, NC where she won the t-shirt design and had her creation printed on the official school t-shirt. In high school, she took college level art classes and won numerous awards, including a national gold key award for a linoleum cut print of a cityscape.

Brehme graduated from North Carolina State University in 1988 with a degree in Design in Architecture. She worked in architecture briefly before switching to work in graphic design.

Brehme joined the Wake Visual Artist Association in Raleigh, NC where she began to paint expressionist works and developed her technique of painting on canvases with combined black and white backgrounds.

In 1992, she began working for the Raleigh News and Observer as an ad designer. She moved to Seattle in late Fall of 1994 and began working for the Seattle Times as a composer/printer, where she designed ads and helped with page layout.

She quickly landed two Seattle art shows in the Spring of 1996. Unfortunately, all of her large pieces were stolen from her last show at a restaurant called Neko's. Determined to not be victimized again, she took a break from showing and instead concentrated on painting pieces on commission and to donate to auctions. After getting married, she created handmade greeting cards to send as thank you's for wedding presents, now some of her most popular works.

In 1997, Brehme quit her job at the Seattle Times to operate her own newspaper, the Seattle Sun, which occupied nearly all of her time. In 2005, she sold the paper and is now working part-time in graphic design for festivals while exploring other creative avenues, such as writing, in her newly found extra time.

In 2007, she moved to Florida for her husbands' employment. She says, "I've moved four times in three years -- I'm surprised I can even find my toothbrush!"

CURRENT

Recent awards include: First place with the Licton Springs Review for her politically inspired, "Intelligent Design" painting. She also won a "Best Use of Color" award for a chalk art drawing of historic Daytona Beach.