Susan Hall’s exhibition in the gallery at Toby’s Feed Barn for the month of November is not to be missed. Susan is one of West Marin’s finest artists, and this show, “The Sublime Ordinary,” takes a poignant look at a familiar landscape through the eyes of one who has called this place home for more than 80 years.
Susan chooses to paint the ordinary things of her everyday life—her home, her dogs and her garden—with a whimsical affection that has nothing to do with sentimentality. She manages to infuse her landscapes with a sense of the sublime, conveying not only beauty, but harmony and a spiritual resonance.
Susan grew up in Point Reyes Station, when it was a small community of ranchers and farmers. Her unstructured childhood provided her an opportunity to spend lots of time on her own in the outdoors. She speaks of being totally at home in the natural world, where she was in constant dialogue with the birds, the trees, the lambs and the coyotes. Even as a small child, she knew she would be an artist, that her way of communicating would be to share images of the world as she saw it.
Although she left Point Reyes to go to art school in the Bay Area and then to pursue a career as a painter in New York City, she returned 26 years ago to paint the rolling hills, ranches and beaches of West Marin. The power of her work derives from her ability to capture the essence of this particular place: She strips away all unnecessary details, simplifying the colors and forms to put us directly in touch with the timeless elements of sea, sky, land and fog.
When I asked her what is different about this show, she spoke eloquently of her desire to convey the wisdom she has honed over eight decades, to pass on a legacy of what she has seen, known and loved. In this show, Susan comes full circle, blurring the boundaries between the past, present and future. The lone figure who so often appears in the distance of her canvases, flying a kite or playing with a dog, represents each one of us, at home in this remarkable place.
The show continues through November, with a reception Nov. 29 from 3 to 5 p.m.
Point Reyes Station resident Susan Page Tillett is retired from a 50-year career supporting the arts, most recently at the Mesa Refuge.