Featured Artist of the month
Each month we feature one artist from our Community Artists page here on our website, in our monthly newsletter, on Instagram, and on Facebook. We will also host an artist’s talk with them over Zoom so our audience can get to know them better. Check back at the beginning of each month for a new artist to learn about. And view artists from past months here.
February 2026: Suzie Buchholz
We are happy to present Suzie Buchholz as our Featured Artist of February 2026. Read on to learn about Suzie and to see a selection of her artwork. And mark your calendars for an Artist’s Talk on Zoom with Suzie on Thursday, February 26th at 1:00 PM Eastern Time. Register ahead of time on Zoom by following this link.
Artist Statement
My studio sits just above a marina, overlooking the bay. There is a constant hum of activity here. There is also a comforting familiarity and orderly progression of the day — the ebb and flow of the tides, the changing color palette of the light, warm to cool to warm again, reflecting on land, water, and sky.
Inside my studio there is a messy orderliness. I work with oil paint and oil sticks, spreading their creaminess with scrapers and palette knives, brushes and chop sticks. When I start a painting there’s never a plan, and always surprises. The only knowns are the size of the canvas and that it will become covered with paint. Somehow time flies faster in the studio than in other places. It’s always hard to leave and a joy to return.
Suzie and the Leo Marchutz School of Painting & Drawing
Nearly 30 years ago I wandered through Aix-en-Provence on my way to Spain. I had raised two kids, sold a business, and taken off for a year of adventure. But something told me to stay in Aix. It felt right. I didn’t speak a word of French, I didn’t know anyone, but it felt like coming home. A few days turned into a few weeks, I had an apartment, I was making friends, and then one day I realized hey, I live here. I joined a gym and spent every day working out and painting. I heard about the Leo Marchutz School of Painting & Drawing and decided to check it out. I was a lot older than most students, who were actually closer to the age of my kids. But I decided to go for it, and that decision changed my life. The warmth, kindness, and encouragement I received at the school gave me the confidence to pursue my dream.
Being out in nature, easel set up facing the Montagne St. Victoire, I remember thinking there was no place in earth I’d rather be. Alan Roberts particularly encouraged me. When I felt insecure, he made me realize that as an older student, I had the advantage of life experience, knowledge, and emotion to pour into my work. Even though I was there a short time, the Leo Marchutz School of Painting & Drawing was the catalyst that set me on the course to become a full time professional artist, and the pursuit of my most important life’s work.
About the Artist
Suzie Buchholz is a Bay Area-based abstract painter with a playful yet rebellious approach to the tradition of Abstract Expressionism. Her process is highly physical, driven by an instinct for harmony of color and form. Inspired by the tangled and fragile moments of daily life, her work combines a gritty, street-wise sensibility with an uncanny, painterly tenderness.
Buchholz holds a BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and Certificat from the Aterier du Soleil, Aix en Provence, France. She is the recipient of several residencies, including Djerassi Artists Program, the Bay Area Discovery Museum, and Sant’Anna in Camprena, Pienza, Italy. Her work has been exhibited throughout the U.S. and Europe, including Galerie Ruban Vert in Aix-en-Provence, France, Colorida Gallery in Lisbon, Portugal, Galerie Mani in Berlin, Germany and Galleria di Biblioteca in Pienza, Italy. A multimedia installation “Pills for Parents” was exhibited at Catharine Clark Gallery, San Francisco, and was part of the Zero1 Biennial. Her work is the collections of Presidio of San Francisco, Bay Area Discovery Museum, Djerassi, and numerous corporate and private collections.
Selected Work
Follow
Website: www.suziebuchholz.com
Instagram: @suziebuchholz
Artist’s Talk on Zoom
Mark your calendars for an Artist’s Talk on Zoom with Suzie on Thursday, February 26th at 1:00 PM Eastern Time. Register ahead of time by following this link.
Previous Featured Artists
To view featured artists from past months, click here.
January 2026: Mary Wallman
October/November 2025: Susan Crapo (posthumously)
September 2025: Jennifer Warren
August 2025: Karen Silve
June/July 2025: Mary Hamilton
May 2025: Kayla Noble
April 2025: Michèle Hénot Gasparach
March 2025: Ciara Ruddock
February 2025: Barry Hart
December 2024/January 2025: Alan Roberts
November 2024: Ben Haggard
October 2024: Amelia Myre
September 2024: Becky Hagenston
August 2024: Paul Umbarger
June/July 2024: Featured Exhibition in Aix-en-Provence
May 2024: Sharon Rawlins
April 2024: Kate Butler
March 2024: Pauline Bétrancourt
February 2024: Jenna Grotelueschen
January 2024: Mary Leone Duffy
December 2023: Elizabeth Ivers
November 2023: Cole Carothers
October 2023: Grace Darden
September 2023: King David
August 2023: Chris Coffey
July 2023: Jim Toub
June 2023: Jennifer Neel
May 2023: Jan Brogan
April 2023: Sophia Hall
March 2023: Lucy Clare Spooner
February 2023: Samantha Van Heest
December 2022: Hilary Stein
November 2022: Nick Cruz Velleman
October 2022: Miranda Blas
September 2022: Samuel Bjorklund