Wallflowers Gallery

As Miss Sue was standing in front of a street lamp, behind the Brick Street Cafe, I admired her distinct beauty and character. That southern summer evening was Miss Sue’s 79th birthday and we passed the time kicking back with Sara and the gang. The experience inspired me to capture the profile of a truly remarkable woman through an entirely new method of painting called Sculptural Expressionism. Rather than traditional canvas or panel, I use plaster and sand to sculpt the stone of what becomes the actual painting surface. Somewhat like Fresco (fresh) painting of the great Italian Renaissance painters, plaster is used as the base surface, but rather than a skim coat; plaster and sand are used in excess to sculpt and create texture. I sculpted the brick wall for this working pondering: “If these walls could talk, they would tell countless stories of laughter, joy, celebration, and tear. They would whisper of the dedication, hard work, and sassy spirit of a woman named Miss Sue.”

-August Vernon