Cathartic Canvases
Former emergency room physician SUSAN KINSELLA traded the hectic hospital for the serenity of creating art
Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles: You spent 32 years as an emergency room physicianβa most demanding and consuming positionβand then became an artist. How was that transition?Β
Susan Kinsella: I traded frantic passion for serene passion. Being an ER doctor is enormously rewarding, but itβs equally exhausting. In 2016, I woke from a dream and knew that I should paint. I saw my last patient in November 2019βthe end of my incredibly fulfilling career with Piedmont Hospital and Piedmont Urgent Care.Β
AH&L: Did you take art lessons?Β
SK: Iβve never taken art lessons. Although I was a crafty kid, I was a chemistry major, so art was not part of my curriculum. Iβm self-taught and I continue to evolve in both subject and technique.
AH&L: Where do you findΒ inspiration?
SK: Travel is my inspirationβboth literal and figurative. Whether drawing on my own travel experiences or watching documentaries, Iβm captivated by landscapes, the ocean and boats. From the U.S., to Scotland, to the coasts of France and Spain, I love the sense of community in small towns and how they relate to the land and water.
AH&L: Itβs evident that your medical career influences your painting style because your boats and houses are very precise; thereβs nothing abstract or obscure in your paintings. Is that deliberate?Β
SK: Iβm not an abstract artist; rather, Iβm more fulfilled when Iβm painting realistic places. I think peaceful solitude is good for the body, and I hope my paintings of land and water nourish the viewerβs soul.Β
AH&L: What do you love most about painting?Β
SK: I love the feeling and validation when someone is moved enough by my painting to buy it. Of course, thereβs validation in helping people through medicine, but itβs a different kind of emotion when one inspires another person through art.
AH&L: Does anyone else in your family paint?Β
SK: My stepgrandchildren love to visit my studio, but I put all of my paintings away so that they can have creative free-rein. My late husband didnβt paint, but he supported this next chapter, and I only wish heβd been here longer to share it with me.Β
AH&L: Whatβs been the best thing about leaving medicine to paint?Β
SK: Iβm so happy that my right brain has been freed!Β