East Bay artist says inspiring others through works her greatest reward

For Sue Clanton, every painting begins long before the brush touches paper. It starts with a conversation, a journey, a fleeting expression or a cultural tradition that she feels deserves to be remembered.

The Discovery Bay watercolor artist has spent decades traveling the globe, documenting people, landscapes and traditions through her artwork. Along the way, she has developed a philosophy that guides her painting and her teaching: everyone can paint.

“I think everyone can and should paint,” Clanton said. “Painting makes you observe everything and think about what makes it unique. You can’t paint it if you don’t know it. That makes you concentrate and learn. It makes life better.”

Clanton was born and raised in California. Because her father worked in retail management, promotions often meant moving to a new city. Her family lived in several Southern California communities before settling in South San Francisco and later Castro Valley, where she graduated from high school. Art would eventually become Clanton’s passion but wasn’t her first career.

Clanton held a variety of jobs, including working as a dental assistant and later as a sales representative. One of her most influential jobs, however, came at a Ben Franklin craft store, where she demonstrated art and craft supplies.

“That’s where I really learned about how to use and create with art materials,” she said.

Clanton began painting in her 30s, when she enrolled in an adult education watercolor class.

“I gained a new perspective on things around me,” she said. “I love the way the colors flow and mix together.”

That fascination with watercolor has never faded. While she has experimented with oils, acrylics, encaustic painting, glass blowing and sand casting, watercolor remains her favorite.

“Sometimes it’s [watercolor] uncontrollable and creates something wonderful,” Clanton said. “Sometimes it’s not. It’s all in controlling the water.”

She and her husband, John, have lived in Discovery Bay since 1977 in a home he designed and built. The couple retired in 2000, opening the door to a new chapter of life filled with travel. Rather than visiting traditional tourist destinations, they intentionally seek places where cultures are rapidly changing.

Their travels have included Papua New Guinea, Easter Island, the Galápagos Islands, Solomon Islands and other Pacific islands, China, Thailand, Tibet, Myanmar, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Clanton said those journeys became the foundation for much of her work, stating that “I enjoy learning about the local culture and customs.”

She reminisces about one of many encounters in particular. While visiting Papua New Guinea, Clanton photographed a local guide preparing for a ceremonial dance. He was applying face paint while wearing a traditional headdress unlike anything she had seen before.

The wig, he explained, had been created from his own hair during his youth and mounted on a bamboo frame. Throughout his life, it would be worn during celebrations and festivals, decorated with flowers and colorful bird feathers.

“When we got home, I couldn’t wait to paint him,” Clanton said.

The finished watercolor went on to win a $5,000 prize in an international art competition, making the trip and painting unforgettable to her. Though Clanton paints landscapes and still lifes, portraits remain her favorite subject.

“I love painting the people I meet traveling and sharing their stories,” she said.

Her realistic style occasionally incorporates abstract elements, but she said her primary goal is always to capture emotion.

“I always try to interpret the emotions of the subject,” she said.

Clanton said she has completed some of her paintings in just a few hours, while large, highly realistic works have required 80 to 100 hours. She often repeats advice from one of her teachers: “A painting can take an hour and 35 years,” Clanton says, explaining that every new work reflects decades of accumulated experience.

Teaching has become just as meaningful as painting itself to Clanton, who frequently encourages beginners who feel they lack artistic ability.

“I have met many people who say they are not artistic,” she said. “When I take them through the process step-by-step, they see that indeed they can paint. It just takes learning how and wanting to paint.”

She compares learning to paint with learning ballet, stating, “A dancer isn’t a prima ballerina on the first day.”

While some of her paintings are for sale, Clanton said she has never viewed painting as a business.

“I paint for my enjoyment and to share my life experiences,” she said. “I think of my paintings as my children and want them to find a new home where they are loved.”

She also uses her artwork to give back. For the past six years, Clanton has been selected to donate artwork to the annual KVIE PBS art auction in Sacramento. Last year, one of her paintings raised $900 for the public television station.

“I want everyone to enjoy painting as much as I do,” she said. “I hope they have at least one painting that makes them smile each morning.”

Clanton says her greatest reward comes not from awards or recognition but from watching someone connect deeply with one of her paintings.

“The best is when I have given a painting to someone and they react strongly, sometimes to the point of crying,” she said. “I know they will treasure it.”

She says her ultimate hope is simple: that her work inspires others to slow down, notice the beauty around them and perhaps pick up a paintbrush themselves.

“I want people to see the beauty around them,” she said, “and be inspired to give it a try and say, ‘I want to learn more.’ ”

Reach Diablo Valley College journalism professor and freelance writer Charleen Earley at [email protected] or 925-383-3072.