We caught up with the brilliant and insightful SUZANNE Hughes a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

SUZANNE, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s jump back to the first dollar you earned as a creative? What can you share with us about how it happened?

I started to put my work on instagram after my first year of painting. I didn’t have a website at the time and I didn’t actually say the pieces I posted were for sale, let alone how much they were. I was contacted by someone who I knew through my kids school who told me that her husband loved my art and could they come and see it when they were next in Ft. Lauderdale with a view to buying him a Christmas present. I ran a whole gamut of emotions but mostly had a huge case of imposter syndrome! I hang my finished pieces of art on my walls at home – it’s my way of deciding if they are finished or not and my home acts as my gallery. I was so worried when they came round but it turned out to be so much easier than I thought it would be. They wanted to know about each piece and were really interested in my process, not just the painting part but the emotional thought process too. To talk about it all seemed like the most natural thing in the world although I was worried that I was doing a lot of nervous rambling. They ended up buying 3 pieces and I could hardly contain myself! I did not know at the time that they had both been to art college and actually collect art!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am an intuitive abstract artist originally from the South West of England, now residing in Florida and I create atmospheric works that are rich with themes of solitude, quiet and space. When I paint I have no specific outcome in mind. I respond to each layer of paint as it goes down, standing back, looking to see what it needs. My work often starts off with vibrant colors and as the layers go down the paintings become more muted and subdued. The initial bright layers give the pieces a depth. I often create in a series and my work reflects a yearning for deserted beaches and solitary space that is hard to come by living in South Florida!
I paint mostly in acrylic, having developed an allergy to the oil and cold wax that I really love using. I am not a fan of the plastic nature of acrylics so I strive to make my finish as unacrylic looking as possible! Out of everything, I am perhaps most proud of this as it has been a process I have worked hard to achieve. I am told that my work often resembles water colors.
In 2021 I won first place in the abstract/experimental category of the Artists Network 38th Annual Art Competition for new artists and was recognized as one of the top five emerging artists to watch. I was rather stunned by this but it gave me a bit more confidence in my ability and gave me the courage to start putting my work out into the world.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I”m British by birth and it has be ingrained in me not to talk about my self or my own achievements. It does not come naturally to me to self promote in any way and I am usually the listener in a group. It has been hard to overcome this but I have made big steps the last couple of years as my confidence as an artist has grown. I find that I am now very at ease talking about my work and its meaning, so confident that I even did an artists talk at a gallery a few weeks ago! The sales aspect is hard though. I have been so fortunate that my work has sold via instagram and word of mouth but I realize that I need to be doing a bit more to put myself out there. That’s my goal for the forthcoming year!

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

When I first started my art instagram account 3 years ago I thought that no one would be interested but I’ve been really blown away by peoples response to my work and the positive encouragement from other artists and followers. Don’t get me wrong, I do not have a huge following, but in the first year it grew way faster than I had hoped. I learnt that people like to read something personal about the poster so I try to include a bit about my thoughts in posts rather than just posting a photograph. Every time I post something I cringe, thinking that no-one is going to like it etc., and I definitely lost a bit of confidence in the second year when I didnt post so much. This year I have gone back to it again and it defiantly helps to post regularly and engage with other accounts. Instagram is constantly changing the algorithm and that has been very frustrating for many artists. Currently it seems to be favoring the smaller businesses so I am trying to get back into it. To anyone just starting out I’d recommend that you add some narrative to your post as well as photos. It helps people to connect with the post.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.suzannehughesart.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/suzannehughesart
• Facebook: Suzanne Hughes Art