Canberra artist Susan Trudinger on escapism through the arts during trying times

Being homebound doesn’t mean we have to go without nature. With nowhere left to wander, we must turn to art. Local Canberra artist Susan Trudinger is bringing the outdoors in with landscape scenes cloaked in whimsy and joy.

She flips traditional style on its head, creating bold canvases of playful patterns that breathe fresh air into the discipline and into our hearts and homes.

“I mainly choose landscapes because it’s a subject that can be interpreted in so many ways,” Trudinger says.

“Nature is where I have always felt at peace and where I gain spiritual comfort. I often meditate while I walk and can feel at one with all that’s around me.”

Trudinger’s philosophy mimics what David Attenborough recently said to UK edition of The Big Issue, “In times of crisis, the natural world is a source of both joy and solace”.

Gazing at Trudinger’s work, you’re transported to a mystical land that’s totally alien yet all too familiar; a marker of the times perhaps.

Colours turn in on themselves as new elements of the paintings reveal themselves in waves. Oh, I thought that was just a blob. Now it’s a tree, now it’s a rock, wait … is there a bird over there?

Yes, that’s the inner ramblings of my mind as I first viewed Roaming Dream. And while recounting my own thoughts feels a little peculiar, it highlights how Trudinger’s work can evolve in the mind and leave one transfixed, offering an elongated moment of escapism.

“Formal training not only changed the way I look at art but how I look at life as well. I learnt how to see the depth and mystery in nature,” Trudinger says.

“The whimsy, I think, comes mainly from my sense of humour and as I get older, I feel like playing around more.”

She begins by blocking a canvas in colours then adds layers from the top down, often using a photograph, a collage or subconscious memories for reference and inspiration. Then the focus is the detail, those pesky little devils that either make or break a painting.

You can see the sedulous thought that goes into each decision, each element, as the realistic is blended with the imaginary almost effortlessly.

“At some stage, the painting takes on a life of its own and either comes together or doesn’t, in which case it’s back to decision making,” Trudinger says.

What I love about Trudinger’s work is that it reminds me of how resplendent nature truly is. Walking around Lake Burley Griffin for the 100th time you forget to absorb the majesty and delight of the bristling leaves and dancing water because it’s become commonplace.

Here you find that it never left, the beauty only disappeared because we forgot to look for it.

I say to Trudinger that I think I spot a few Canberran references in her paintings and, phew, she confirms my suspicions.

“Yes, they’re there, though not always intentionally,” she says.

“I love painting mountains, lakes, trees and birds so there is definitely a Canberra influence. In fact, I only started including birds in my landscapes since living here. They are everywhere, I love them.”

She hints at something I believe to be true, that nature permeates our soul. So even when we’re held up indoors, it finds a way to sneak out of the recesses of our mind and brings us comfort. But if you’re having trouble recalling it, there’s always a Trudinger painting waiting in the wings.

instagram.com/susantrudinger