Sue Pavlatos is an accomplished artist, a successful business woman, a community activist, wife and mother. She attended the University of Minnesota Duluth and majored in art. Ms Pavlatos was selected "Teacher of the Year" in 1981 by the Duluth Community Schools. She is a Duluth native with an affinity for its people and natural beauty. Her warmth and friendly manner are reflected in the gallery and framing business she established in 1989, Art Options. Art Options moved to its present location in April of 1997. The gallery carries and markets all Sue's prints selected from her original watercolors
Sue works in watercolor, collage, oils and acrylics. Her medium of choice is watercolor. The natural beauty and man made structures of the Northland often provide the subject of her paintings. As Sue says, "Life is a walk in the woods".
Publication of Sue's work has been by Lake Superior Magazine and the Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce. Lake Superior Magazine selected the watercolor, Safe Harbor, for the cover of its May 1994 edition. Lake Superiors Crystal Shore, a watercolor, was chosen as their official Christmas card in 1995. Her work appears on the cover of the 1998 Membership Guide and 1998 Newcomer Guide for the Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce.
Sue exhibits regularly. Her work was included in the '94, '95, and '97 Ohara, Japan painting competitions. A member of the Duluth Art Institute and the Lake Superior Watercolor Society, Sue has exhibited nationally in the Great Lake Regional Art Exhibit, as well as the Arrowhead Art Exhibit and Red River Valley National Show. Growing Wild was the title of a recent one person show at Full Circle Gallery in Sioux Falls, SD. Originals of paintings for a series of prints by the same name were featured in the show. Survivors on the Edge, was a one person exhibit a the Johnson Heritage Post in Grand Marais, MN. These paintings celebrate man and nature, and partnership and stewardship. They show nature, man and industry as they impact each other. Sue's travels abroad to France and Italy have also inspired beautiful plein air paintings of European landscapes. Her passion for painting is still as strong as ever.
Artist's statement:
"Painting is a way to capture the moment. I enjoy connecting my life to the earth and water with paint. My images reflect nature's impact on my life."
