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Portrait of an Artist

Name: Suzanne Staud
Hometown: Modesto, California
Type of art: Graphic design (contemporary), fine art (postmodern), interior redesign (eclectic)
Day job: STAUDESIGN (Graphic Design, Fine Art, Interior Redesign)
Family: Randy Alford, husband, and Alice Sunday, shelter puppy
Background: When I was young, my father would ask me, "What is going on in that little head of yours?" I believe he saw me as his sensitive and contemplative child. No one else in the family had the art bent. However, my father loved to doodle and my mother had great style and was very clever.
I went to Catholic school, where art wasn't a focus. We copied postcards of the masters. I did great copies. When I entered Modesto High School, back in the late '60s, the art classes were a haven. I was encouraged to be creative and discovered a world of design. The teachers submitted my art into competitions and I started winning awards. I saw that as a sign that art could be a career, plus I was terrible at math. Recognition is addictive. My father, however, worried I'd end up like Vincent Van Gogh, so I took typing as backup. I went to college and studied fine art, hoping to be the next Picasso, but ended up in a print shop inking up press plates. So, there began my career in commercial art and the road of hard knocks.
Art experience: I have designed corrugated boxes for produce, illustrated a children's book, designed and illustrated two lines of fabric, designed hundreds of logos, wine labels, brochures, posters and newspaper ads. I've also won many local and national awards for these graphic designs. A few years back, I designed, illustrated, stitched and installed the display case at the state Capitol for Stanislaus County.
I have won multiple fine-art awards in local art shows and have been in the California State Fair's prestigious California Works three times.
For its interior design, our home has appeared on HGTV (Home and Garden Television). I have helped clients redesign their homes ... revamping what they already have by adding, subtracting and rearranging. I love advising people on how to paint their homes. It would be fun to repaint the whole town.
Advice for young artists: Go to school and learn to type. Aim for the trash can but keep the moon in sight.
Favorite art: Modern and postmodern
Plans: Look for new clients in need of creative graphic design and be ready for my first solo fine-art show at The Chartreuse Muse in April/May. I will continue to look for my authentic voice and will be continually in pursuit of excellence.
How do you reach people unfamiliar with art? With good color and design. always. People don't have to know that I'm using the principles of design to draw them into a painting, a logo or a room.
What would surprise people about your art? Sometimes I sleep with my art. I work on a futon in the middle of my studio. ... Life and art tend to overlap.

My husband,my pound puppy, Alice Sunday, Fridays, Popcorn, the smell of my dogs paws, Sunny days,creating all kinds of art, my favorite music on Ipod, old, black and white movies, clean windows, those books in Ipod from the library, documentaries, walking with friends,God and the Saints, designing anything from lamps to business cards,antiquing, estate sales, interior design (rearranging the furniture)

Cloudy days, depression, anxiety, huge crowds, dirty floors, scrubbing the bathtub, fixing dinner, death, a bad crease in the newspaper, people who don't smile, Adobe Illustrator and pretension.

Fabric wall hangings, interior design, drawing, antiquing, reading, Movies with popcorn, and repurposing furniture and clothes.