Human emotions are complex, complicated, and sometimes frustrating. Art helps us connect with these emotions in a different way. For the artist, this can be a cathartic release. As the observer of art, our emotions can be wrapped up in a visual sensation that can take us on an unexpected trip. Such is the case with Susan Brewer’s latest body of work entitled Visual Essays Redefined.

"I paint energy”, says Brewer, “I follow the impulse of the imagination through the evolving layers of color, texture and suggested forms to evoke images that explore the human condition.” This is captured in pieces like “Soft Rage” where you can feel chaos churning and burning. There are multiple ways you could interpret this piece; one of which is that the layers and textures evoke struggle and ferocity.

However, with her painting titled Amorous, the layers of reds speak to different emotions as they intertwine with the blues. Whereas the colors are separate in Soft Rage, the mixtures and layers of reds and blues evoke entirely different feelings in Amorous. It is playful yet serious; filled with longing, but not distant.

With pieces like “Illusions” “Night Journey” and “Night Search” you begin to understand the role that environment plays within her work. “My abstractions are about a place in time that examines our relationship to the environment, to others and ourselves.”

”Each work of art is a visual essay relevant to my life at the time of the process," says Brewer. With each of her works of art, Susan Brewer invites us to interact with her world, her environment, and her emotions. She lays it all on the line. With each stroke of her brush, we get closer to understanding her environment as well as our own.