Susan Ellis, pastel painter
The beauty of clam digging, a painting routine that works, and why she has a wall of “failures”
Susan Ellis is well known for her pastel paintings of professional clam diggers working in the mud flats in Ipswich, MA, sometimes knee-deep in the ocean, harvesting clams. Her paintings show deep respect for this demanding, physical work in beautiful and colorfully illuminated scenes. Susan is bringing something new to the traditional imagery of North Shore art, shows frequently in juried exhibits, and is receiving awards for her work.
Spending time in an artist’s workspace can give clues about how they think and work. At the time of my visit, the walls of Susan’s home studio were decorated with pencil sketches of figures and birds, color swatches, a bookcase of art books, one of her framed pastels, and six or seven pastel pieces pinned to a bulletin board. Palate & Palette’s staff photographer took snapshots of many of those pinned pieces, but Susan was quick to explain that those were her “failures.” That we tend to be our own worst critics seemed to be the case, given that these pieces were attractive to our eyes. It was instructive to learn why Susan pinned these pieces to the wall, rather than discarding them. We offered to help dispose of the “failures” if she planned on a purge. Here’s our recent conversation.
What led to your focus on clam diggers working on mudflats?
Previously, we lived in the Washington, D.C., area where we raised our family and I took art classes [more about that later]. I really liked the figure drawing classes, but I didn’t find subjects I was interested in outside the classroom. Then we moved to Ipswich, MA, and for the first time, I came across clam diggers. That brought everything together for me.
The clam diggers, viewed as figures, are in dramatic poses: They're bent over, stretching, pulling — all those things that are exciting for figurative drawing. And they are in a beautiful landscape.
I also fell in love with the narrative. It’s a local subject – people doing hard work with a purpose. I became interested in the subject before I knew Ipswich was famous for its clams.
Tell me about your process, starting with when you go to mudflats to observe clam diggers.
I take photographs and bring them back to my studio and play around with them in a sketchbook. That’s when I see what is making me excited about an image. Then I go to my iPad and use Procreate with the sketch, which is great because I can take my pencil and just do crazy stuff, add colors, move things, and try different things. Once I get an idea going, then I go back to using a pencil in my sketchbooks and I mock it up with a line drawing, which helps me get the size right. Then I transfer that line drawing to pastel matte paper or sanded paper [sanded paper has texture to hold the pastel].
Next, I draw the lines in, and then add my values as underpainting, which I usually paint with gouache. For the underpainting, I choose a contrasting color. For example, if I plan to use a lot of blue in the painting, I might do the gouache value underpainting in orange. The interplay between the underpainting of orange gouache and blue pastel can make a painting surface very active and exciting. The gouache dries almost instantly. Then I start with the pastels and finish it with the pastels.
Do you use fixative?
No, I never do. With this pastel matte, after one or two bangs on the back of the paper, nothing more comes off. [Fixatives can help to hold the pastel but can change the color and spray fixatives can have health hazards.]
What kind of pastel matte do you use?
It's made by Clairefontaine. I get it from Blick, but you can get it from other places. The texture is softer and finer than typical sanded paper. It really holds the pastel.
Since we're talking about materials, what kind of pastels do you I use?
My favorites are Giraults, Terry Ludwig, Schmincke, and good old-fashioned Rembrandts.
Do you have a painting routine?
Not really. I want to paint any time I'm not doing something else. It’s a great day when I come into the studio at 8 in the morning and then I realize it’s 5 or 6 o’clock in the evening and it’s time to make dinner. That happens maybe once a week, the other days are half a day here and there.
Is it easy to get started or do you start slow?
I have both types of days. The most successful routine for me is to spend a couple of hours the day before or even a half a day working on the composition and sketching it in, and then I can't wait for the next day to start painting.
It’s fun to start with a sketch rather than starting with a blank canvas. In the morning I'll see the line drawing and I might notice with fresh eyes that something looks wrong and I'll fix it. Then I'm ready to go with the gouache. That's a fun day because all the mental work is behind me.
Is there any technique you use that is absolutely your own?
I don't think it's my own, but I rely on a traditional atelier technique. I take a pencil and using straight lines, I get that big shape and then I divide it into smaller shapes, mostly using straight lines. [Susan’s sketches distinguished by sharply angled lines are very appealing on their own.]
OK, so you're making what might be a looser, rounder drawing into something a little more angular and faceted?
Yes, I sketch with straight lines, which allow me to see angles better. After getting the big shapes as accurate as possible, I can further define smaller shapes and curves. The more I work on it, the less faceted, less abstract it gets. I’m going to try to keep it sculptural.
I think my style of drawing, such as starting my sketches with big shapes and straight lines contribute to the monumental feel of the figures. It reinforces the implied narrative — these are local workers or clammers laboring in a vast and overwhelming beautiful and natural setting. Both the setting and the human labor are respected.
What tricks have you learned from other artists that apply to pastels in particular?
I took a class with Jacob Aguiar who does outdoor landscape painting and he does underpainting in bright orange. That bright pinky-orange underpainting makes your paintings sing. Then there’s Dawn Emerson who uses a squeegee and inks, and she splatters the pastel surface with water. She takes a multimedia approach that layers pastels [with water-mixable oil paint]. She did all these things with pastel that I never thought of.
When you go out to take photographs, do the people clamming know you are photographing them? Do you interact with them?
They do, and I have had 100% wonderful experiences. They're busy working and, therefore, generally don't have an interest in what I'm doing. Sometimes, someone will be friendly and say, “how do I look today?” I am usually taking photographs from a distance and then I enlarge them when I get home.
Have you had any experiences where someone that you've painted has seen the finished piece?
Yeah, I have. I don't do exact faces or portraits, so I'm not sure people would recognize themselves, and I also change things. People have often said, “Oh, that could be my father,” or “that could be my grandfather.” Or they will ask, “Is that my father? Is it my grandfather?”
One time, a woman came to me and said about one of my pastels, “That is my grandfather, and he has since passed away. This is the most wonderful thing that I could have.” [Susan and I get teary eyed as she’s telling me this.] It was wonderful that I had that opportunity to give her something that she wouldn't have had.
Do you take photographs in the winter time?
Yes. It's amazing to see clammers out there in the winter. They clam all year round. Right now, the Ipswich Museum has an exhibit on history of clamming, and it includes two of my paintings. One of the speakers at the exhibit reception is a clammer and he said he had been on the beach every single day for the last 40 years! [Plug for the Ipswich Museum: It’s worth a visit to see the clamming exhibit that includes Susan’s paintings, plus the museum has a sizeable Arthur Wesley Dow collection and historic houses to tour. The docents are friendly too. And the nearby Sandpiper Bakery has tasty provisions.]
Are there specific times of year that you prefer to observe the clammers?
Some of my most successful paintings are those of early autumn scenes, when the light is just right. The surrounding landscape is so much more colorful in autumn.
But I also love the colder months. A clammer might be wearing a hat under their hood, and a scarf, and that all makes a great composition. Sometimes in the summer the men are shirtless, and if you're interested in the human body, that's pretty cool to see. There are women clammers out there too.
I'm fascinated when artists get very immersed in a very specific subject. What has that what been like for you? How has this subject kept your interest?
Every day I hope that I do better and paint with more expression while being less reliant on realism. I’d like to get to a point where I can paint only what’s essential to the intent of the painting. I'm still so far away from where I want to be with showing this story. It's such a rich narrative, and it always changes. As much as the world just gets more digital and fast paced, the work they do stays the same. They are out there digging clams.
Do you like to eat clams?
Yes, I love clams, though I have never dug for them.
What is your favorite way to eat them?
Steamed. I have neighbors who clam, and they bring me clams that I then steam in the kitchen. I love clam chowder too.
Do you have a favorite restaurant for eating clams around here?
Farnham’s in Essex and the Choate Bridge Pub in Ipswich have great clams.
Let’s shift gears and talk about your art path. Did you draw as a child?
Yes. As a young girl I loved drawing dresses. I would cut them out and put them in a book and make my own little catalog. In science class, I loved drawing in my lab book. My teacher would say, “These illustrations are beautiful, but what is your result?” I was not as interested in the experiment and its scientific results.[Susan smiles].
The luckiest thing was that the mother of my childhood best friend was an artist and served as a role model for me. She was a silk screener and a watercolorist and I would observe her in her studio.
I took some art classes in college but decided to get a degree in psychology. Once I graduated, I worked at the retail store at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and became their jewelry buyer. I loved being at the museum. When I got married and moved to the Washington, D.C., area, I worked at the Smithsonian as a jewelry buyer for their shops. We went to so many exhibits at the Smithsonian — it was great!
Then I focused on child raising, and when my children were toddlers, I took a pastel class and loved it. I lived near the Art League in Alexandria, VA, and went on to take many classes there from nationally known teachers. I would choose classes based on what I wanted to learn, mainly focused on drawing and painting. Some of the classes were so good that I took them repeatedly. I enrolled in oil painting classes using pastels because the approach to painting is the same: it’s about getting the big shapes on paper, and then adding the color, and value, and chroma.
Was there a particular turning point where you felt like you had reached a certain skill level or aspect of success?
Yes. The Art League in Alexandria has a gallery. For the first four or five years, I never got into a show. Then suddenly, boom, I got into a show and subsequently many more shows. So, I guess the quality of my work reached a new level.
Please tell me more.
Many states have pastel societies, and I would submit my work for national exhibits. The first few pieces I submitted didn't get in. I would just go to the exhibit to see other people’s work and think, someday I hope I can have a piece in an exhibit. Then it happened after a long build up to that point. [She started submitting work to pastel societies in Maryland and Cape Cod, and was accepted. The big milestone was getting work accepted in the Pastel Society of America, in New York City. Her art went on to receive many awards. She is humble about this and genuinely excited to have her work validated in this way.]
It's great to see your development through other people's eyes. It's harder for you to see your own development.
You mentioned you want to keep growing as an artist. What does that mean for you?
My work is very realistic. I would like to see it develop so it is not as dependent on details. I can try and respond more personally to a scene, versus depicting with paint exactly what I see. I look to other artists who are doing that as my guide.
Who do you admire who paints that way?
Lisa Breslow and Lisa Noonis, I love their work. I have worked with closely with Sally Strand, who's a very accomplished pastel artist. Also, Martin Campos, Maggie Siner, Zoey Frank, and Mark Dunford.
You have what you call your “failures” tacked to the wall over there. Why are they over there and why are they failures?
I sit back and look at them and think, “Yeah, I’m not happy with that. What would I do differently if I try this again?” They are paintings that I haven't ripped up because I want to try them again, so they are pinned up to remind me.
Is your inner voice critical of your work?
Yes. But every once in a while, I think I captured what the scene says to me. I did what I said I was going to do. I like the colors that I used. It feels comfortable.
When you have created a nice piece, are you then comfortable saying, “OK, now I'm going to put a price tag on it and somebody can take it away and I will never see it again”?
Yes, absolutely.
Do you ever create a piece that you can't part with?
No. But my husband bought the piece that’s in the Ipswich Museum right now [Between Bank and Sea below]. He said he didn’t want to let it go. That painting has been hanging on the wall in the kitchen. That was a special piece for me. It was my first piece that won a Pastel Society of America award and I'm glad we still have it. But I don't keep anything else.
Do you accept commissions?
I have, but it’s not my favorite thing. I don't do very good work when I'm under that kind of pressure. I have worked successfully with people when they like a certain piece I’ve done and they trust me to paint something similar. I will sketch something up for them based on the size they are looking for. That can work well.
If someone said for a week, you can't paint clammers or birds or marine themes. What would you paint?
I would paint figures. I would redo one of my failures. I'm still really intrigued with cute little girls. [Susan points to a lovely pastel on the “failure” wall. It’s of two little girls holding balloons].
That’s really sweet. I can't believe you call that a failure!
If I tweak it, I might be able to do something with it. I like family relationships as a subject. I also love still life. I sometimes set up a still life in the winter months when I don't have access to a figure class.
You live in Ipswich and paint people digging for clams. If you had stayed in Alexandria, Virginia, would you be painting people digging up dirt about politicians?
She laughed and said no.
If you could make art with another artist at any point in history, who would you want to observe and work alongside?
John Singer Sargent. Supposedly, he would stand six feet away from his easel and look at his painting, and then walk up to the canvas, make a mark with his brush, and then walk back to observe it and keep it as is. That one mark would say everything about the skirt or the face — just that one mark. He knew how to do that, whereas most other painters would labor over that detail. It would be pretty spectacular to watch somebody who can paint like that.
Lightening round questions
What's your favorite piece of art that you own?
We have a Jeanne Rosier Smith pastel of a wave.
What's been your most captivating museum visit or art viewing experience?
Definitely the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
If you could host a dinner party for six people, living or dead, who would you want around the table?
John Singer Sargent, Georgia O’Keeffe, Isabella Stewart Gardner, Maggie Siner, Andrew Wyeth and N.C. Wyeth. I’d add Willem or Elaine de Kooning or another Modernist, which would spark some great discussion.
Most memorable meal you've had?
A couple of years ago, we were in Santa Fe and went to La Casa Sena. They had taken Mediterranean cuisine and elevated it to a new level.
Palate & Palette menu
Here’s what I would serve if Susan and her husband came to dinner, which they are invited to do:
Farmstand tomatoes and basil with olive oil, burrata, and balsamic vinegar
Fresh corn soup
Garlic shrimp with a Bonny Breads baguette
Blueberry galette
Where to find Susan Ellis
Zenobia, 38 Essex Rd., Ipswich, MA
Muzio Designs, 55 John Wise Ave Rt. 133, Essex, MA
North Shore Arts Association, 11 Pirates Lane, Gloucester, MA
Another wonderful interview, Amy. You really have a talent for painting a picture of a total being with your questions and writing. I have long admired Susan Ellis’s work, so it was great to “get to know her” in this way. It was nice to meet you at Gordon Massman’s fabulous Open Studio.
I LOVED this one, Amy! I want to see more of her work! Next visit to Ipswich? (Well done! She sounds wonderful and unpretentious about her art.) I also love her subjects. And P.S. I am VERY pleased that you and Cheryl D have met. I am a great fan of her work, both the old and the new. She is brilliant.