Date: Fri 23-Apr-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Quick Words:

Tesin-fingerpainting

Full Text:

Professional Finger Painter Sue Tesin Offers-- A Different Approach To

Landscapes And Portraits

(with photos)

BY SHANNON HICKS

About five years ago, the painter Sue Tesin was having trouble finishing

paintings because something was irritating her. It wasn't anything personal or

even work-related that was getting under her skin, it was literally her work

that was bothering her.

"I found the turpentines from the oil [painting process] were making me sick,"

said the artist, who has works out of the upper level studio space in the old

Sandy Hook Post Office building. "So I switched to finger painting. There is

no one I know who really does finger painting."

Sue switched to tempera paints, and works in an Impressionist style. She has

been working in the studio space at 4 Washington Avenue in Sandy Hook for two

years, creating paintings for her own body of work and also accepting portrait

commissions.

Sue's studio is called Connecticut Impressions. In addition to being a work

space for the artist, the studio is also home to classes Sue offers for

enthusiasts of all ages. Later this year, Sue hopes to expand her schedule to

include classes and area community and senior centers, and perhaps even in a

prison setting.

"So many people have tried to bring something into prisons to make the days of

the inmates better, but there are so many restrictions on things that can be

brought into the prison," the artist said. "I have been told inmates are not

allowed to have paint brushes because they can be turned into weapons, but if

I teach them to paint using only their fingers, I think it might be something

that would be allowed."

Next weekend, Ms Tesin will open an exhibition of her artwork which will

remain on view through the end of May. The exhibition, "Sue Tesin: My Finger

Paintings," will offer visitors a look at recent semi-abstract and

Impressionist works.

The show will present 12 works of art for contemplation. Visitors will notice

that in recent works, the artist has begun using a much brighter palette of

colors than older works reveal. The landscapes are lighter, and the portraits

seem even more alive than their predecessors.

The studio is open primarily on weekends and by appointment. The main reason

for the limited hours is because the artist does not have an assistant, so she

closes the studio when she isn't working there. Chances are, if the artist

isn't working in her studio, she is outdoors somewhere working on new art.

These days Sue has company while she's working, though. On January 5, she gave

birth to her first child, a son she named Antonio. The newborn seems very

comfortable with his mother's studio, and watches every move his mother makes

-- when he isn't busy napping.

"He really brightens my day," the artist smiled.

For as long as she can remember, Sue (whose birth name in Thai is Supawadee)

has wanted to be an artist. She was picking up pencils and drawing with them

from the moment her tiny hands would hold on to the writing instrument, and by

the time she was in elementary school, she was entering contests.

She studied art for one year at the University of Hartford, which she calls

"an excellent school," but became more interested in poverty and its related

issues and ended up changing both her major and her school. In May 1993, she

graduated from Cornell University with a bachelor's in nutrition/pre-med and

began working in the field.

But something was missing. She was still doing her artwork on the side, but it

wasn't satisfying.

"Something was inside of me. I just felt I wasn't painting enough," she said.

From 1993 to October 1997, Sue worked a few different jobs. She was an

outreach volunteer with WIC, an Ithaca, NY program; she was an assistant

nutritionist with CCAG, a citizens action group in Danbury; and she was a lab

technician in the research and development center at Nestle in New Milford.

While all of this work paid the bills, it wasn't enough for someone who still

felt something else pulling at her as strongly as ever. So in October 1997,

Sue left Nestle and became a full-time artist.

Sue is primarily a self-taught artist, and loves the works of the classic

American Impressionists, especially Mary Cassatt. Learning on your own is the

"only way to go" for an artist, she feels. Rather than learning from an

instructor, she said, an artist will best develop his or her own style and

their own creativity by nurturing their own talent.

"It makes it a lot of fun, too," she added.

A resident of Danbury, Sue works in her studio as much as possible.

"This is a great area to work in," the artist said, glancing around.

Connecticut Impressions is situated on the corner of a busy four-way

intersection. It is at the bottom of Church Hill Road in Sandy Hook, where

Route 34 begins. By keeping the windows in the back of the building open and

the majority of the front windows closed, traffic noise is greatly reduced.

Additionally, studio's windows offer a view of the wooded area behind the

building, and the Pootatuck River runs right behind the landmark red building.

All of this combines to create a fairly relaxing working space for an artist

of any medium.

"It's actually very quiet," said Sue. "It's calm, especially with the stream

out back. It's just perfect."

And so is professional finger painting, a fairly unexplored style that not

only allows this artist to imitate some of her favorite painters, but also to

continue her true love without having it get under her skin.

"Sue Tesin: My Finger Paintings" will be on view at Connecticut Impressionists

May 1-30. The studio will host an opening reception on Sunday, May 2, from 4

to 7 pm. The studio is at 4 Washington Avenue, in Sandy Hook; telephone

426-8795. Hours are Saturday and Sunday, 11 am to 4 pm.