Since moving to Sedona, Arizona in 2006 she has produced a series of multi-media inspirational exhibits with paintings, poems and music. Her first volume of paintings and poems, "The Poetry of Place" (2009)  is a rare expression of the inner world of the outer landscape.

 A cloud-shrouded mountain expresses strength and endurance in the face of adversity. A winding path encourages us to trust the ever-changing mysteries of life's unknowns. And the vast divides of the Grand Canyon humbles us to life's constant reminders that, in time, all forms dissolve and return to something more elemental and transcendent.

Pitcairn's poetry and artistic symbols frequently emphasize the universal and transcendent. A lifelong student of spiritual philosophies and practice, she believes that the expression of that underlying spirit is the true aim of all the arts, whether we realize it or not. 

She writes eloquently about three core principles of art with parallels in music, architectural, performing arts, science, society, economics and virtually every aspect of inner and outer life. To download a 30 page PDF of  "Awaken To Beauty: Principles of Art and of Creation," click here.  For a 8.5 x 11 chart that summarizes these principles and techniques of art and life, click here.

Born in DuQuoin, Illinois to descendents of early American settlers, Susan moved with her family to Arizona at age 8. There she fell in love with the rugged beauty of the Southwest and began painting it from monthly issues of "Arizona Highways." She majored in art at the University of Arizona (1967-9), later earning a masters in social psychology.

Susan Pitcairn, 1982

Pitcairn studied art primarily with Tom Allen at Cabrillo College in Aptos, California (1980-82), who emphasized the works of the French Impressionists. During this period she created one of her most popular images, "Of Heaven and Earth," available in prints and full size giclees:

More recently she has also studied with nationally-known pastelist Kitty Wallis and top plein air painters John Cogan, Marcia Burtt, Clive Pates, Cody DeLong, Clark Mitchell and others.

Susan has won numerous awards since returning full-time to her art career in 2006, including First Place in Professional Painting at the annual Sedona Arts Center juried shows of both 2007 and 2008, and she placed in the Top 200 nationally in the 2007 and 2008 Paint the Parks Competitions. She has produced numerous exhibits combining paintings and poems and is an invitational participant in the prestigious 2010 Sedona Plein Air Festival. She is on the faculty of the Sedona Arts Center and has also taught an annual residential workshop with Cody DeLong at Saguaro Lake Ranch near Phoenix.

Susan's works are in collections from Italy to New Zealand. She is an artist to watch!