Susan Steckler

Raised in the Pacific Northwest, Susan Steckler developed a deep love for wild places. Her husband's career took them abroad, starting in Zurich, where she fell in love with trail running and photographing landscapes. In Paris, while earning her master's degree, she explored galleries and became infatuated with the physical presence of paint. Moving to Boulder, Colorado, everything clicked. The high-country trails, a welcoming arts community, and a job layoff gave her the time to explore the canvas. She is drawn to painters who believed color should be felt rather than explained, like the Fauves and Orphists. Following their lead, she builds her pieces in vibrant and thick layers of impasto acrylic, giving the paint weight and a physical presence. Her work includes Landscapes & Wildflowers, inspired by her runs, and the Wild Beasts Series, where she paints individual animals in bold, non-naturalistic colors. Her photography captures Colorado summits, wildflowers, and mountain sunrises.