The Mind's Eye

Susan Deaton

The Mind’s Eye: When I was younger, I loved drawing from life. I enjoyed studying how light hit objects and  the shadows they formed. The highlights in the eyes of people, cats, and horses fascinated  me. I took photographs to study the detailed web of the lights and darks of tree roots and  rocks. This lifetime of observing light and shadows has given me a wealth of visual  knowledge, which I now use to create drawings from my mind’s eye. Most of the drawings I  do at this stage of life are done from my imagination. Specifically, my face drawings  represent this new visual place my pen and mind have found. My drawings move from a  vague idea to the lines my pen finds beneficial to the composition. I create symbols  representing my ideas about my imperfections and society’s. Many of my current drawings  have closed eyes, with open eyes embedded in the forehead and face, defining the current  space of my creativity. In other words, I create visual stories through my mind’s eye. These  stories extend to more extensive works like Blank Space, Tradition, Shades of Meaning, The  Last Flower, and other works presented in this exhibition.  

About the Artist: M. Susan Deaton is an artist, writer, mother, grandmother, and teacher. She has spent a  lifetime giving a voice to the injustices she sees and her empathy toward the voiceless,  which includes nature, is reflected in her art. Today’s politics is anti-empathy, making her  art more relevant to some and lacking any meaning for others. No matter the viewer, her art demands a response even if the reaction is turning away. Susan shows her  work regionally and nationally and has also been included in international exhibitions.  

Susan worked as an educator for most of her life and brings this experience to her art. She  has raised three daughters with her husband, Keith. She spends much time traveling to see her grandchildren and exploring new places. Her open mind is essential to her inspiration as she plans new adventures. Susan’s love of learning is reflected in the degrees she’s earned at the different stages of her life, which include a Bachelor of Arts, a Master of Arts,  and a Doctor of Education. Susan has published four books about her art; the most recent is The Anatomy of Good and Evil (2024).