Susan Snyder
"Chestnut"
The official image selected for 2017 is a watercolor titled “Chestnut” by Susan J. Snyder of Saint Marys, IA. Susan Snyder is a multi-talented individual who wears many hats...as an equestrian, a wife and mother of three, a physician, and an artist. She began riding at the age of 10, showed hunters through her junior years, and continues to indulge her passion for horses today through the discipline of dressage. Dr. Snyder received a Bachelor of Science from The Ohio State University and then attended medical school at Ohio University.
After meeting her husband and getting married, she moved to Wyoming where she completed her residency in family practice and then practiced medicine and raised three children over the next 20 years.
In 2008 the Snyders moved to central Iowa where Dr. Snyder continued with her medical practice and also pursued a new avocation “just for the fun of it:” painting. She and her oldest daughter decided to explore the world of art through acrylics, pastels, and watercolors. After months of frustration trying to overcome the challenges of watercolors, Susan fell in love with the medium. Unlike most professional artists, she is completely self-taught having developed her skills only through books, a few videos, and many hours of practice at the kitchen table. She appreciates the watercolor medium because of its fluidity and transparency that result in luminescence.
Susan Snyder has been painting professionally since 2013. During the past five years her work has been presented at the annual exhibitions of Watercolor Societies in Pennsylvania, Iowa, Kentucky, Illinois, and western Colorado and at the Iowa State Fair. She has participated in the Western Spirit Art Show & Sales in Cheyenne, WY, and her work was just recently presented at the FEI World Cup Finals in Omaha, NE. More information on Susan J. Snyder and her lovely watercolors can be found at www.sjsnyderart.com.