By Thomas P. Caldwell
Susan MacDonald works on a painting in her Meredith studio. (Tom Caldwell Photo)
Snow Dragon Mountain Farm in Meredith, with more than 50 acres of fields and woods, is the perfect setting for budding artists to hone their skills. With a natural-light indoor studio space as well as expansive lawns and a deck where art students can engage in plein air painting, Snow Dragon Studio is a place to practice and improve one’s artistic skills at one’s own pace, guided by a woman who has been immersed in art for her entire life.
Artist Susan MacDonald says that, while she got seriously involved with the art studio only a year ago, she has been drawing and painting since she was a child. As the daughter of the late Loran Percy, a well-known Lakes Region landscape painter, she learned to love the craft of coaxing images onto the canvas.
Rumney Village Store, painting by Susan MacDonald. (Tom Caldwell Photo)
Loran, who began as a photographer but evolved into an artist and teacher whose paintings of Lake Winnipesaukee and Gunstock Mountain Resort made him a popular artist with both local residents and visitors to the Lakes Region, operated an art gallery in Gilford. The gallery featured oil paintings as well as hand-cut crystal, limited-edition prints, and Victorian windows.
Susan picked up her drawing and painting skills from him directly, as well as from assisting with the art classes he taught.
She found herself operating a veterinary clinic in Gilford after marrying Dr. Robert MacDonald, who had graduated from Tufts University’s veterinary program, and they also operated a dairy farm, leaving her with very little time to think about painting. However, after her mother moved from her apartment on the property to live in the Taylor Community, Susan decided to convert the apartment into an art studio where she could work on her own skills while also teaching others the love of art.
Snow-covered truck, a painting by Susan MacDonald. (Tom Caldwell Photo)
“I decided to do what I really wanted to do,” Susan says.
She still has six cows, six geese, six dogs, and five cats, but the farm now serves as a setting for the practice of art skills. Her animals often serve as subjects for her students to paint.
Susan takes a maximum of four students at a time in order to give each one the necessary attention. It is not a class for art instruction as much as an opportunity for artists to develop their own skills, with Susan serving as a guide.
“It’s an open studio, with three-hour sessions for $35,” she explains. “We pick a project together on something they’ll be comfortable with — watercolors, oils, or whatever they want to do. Students are allowed to choose their own style.”
Susan MacDonald enjoys capturing the details of homes and junk automobiles in her paintings. (Tom Caldwell Photo)
Students can bring their own art supplies or use hers, she says, and they work on their individual projects until they’re done.
All that is not to say there is no structure to the sessions.
“We start with a warmup,” Susan says. “We do drawing to start.”
She takes students to nearby locations to practice sketching, which she views as a necessary ingredient.
“It’s important to have good drawing skills to paint well,” she says. “It’s hard to just pick up brushes and paint. I encourage them to do sketches first, and to plan it out carefully. There’s value in sketches.”
She says students are often eager to start with the canvas, but “without a plan in your head, it’s hard to be successful. I make sure they come out with a good product in the end, something to show to their friends.”
Susan teaches her students about color, values, form, and composition, and how to build on those skills.
The warmup sessions also break up the time during the three-hour open-studio sessions.
A painting by Susan MacDonald of Meredith. (Tom Caldwell Photo)
The Artist’s Favorites
Susan says she most enjoys plein air painting — going outside and choosing an interesting subject. For her, capturing the details of a building or a junk automobile or a boat, and the way the light plays over those surfaces, are the most interesting.
“It’s like putting a puzzle together,” she says. “Scenery is good, too, but putting the little pieces together is what I like most.”
Still, what she calls “painting in the wild” does have its problems in the form of wind, bugs, and rain.
“It can be overwhelming,” she said. “You can also be dealing with traffic and people watching.”
That is why having an expansive property that is totally off the grid is welcome for her, and it can be helpful to students. They can get outside, yet move inside the studio if conditions warrant — and the remote location off a long driveway means traffic is not an issue.
“It’s so complicated, so we teach students to simplify stuff,” she says.
Susan likes sketching and oil painting, but her favorite medium is gouache, an opaque watercolor that results in a soft, chalky look. Unlike oils, gouache paints can be reactivated after drying by adding water, allowing the artist to touch up or rework the original painting.
Susan also likes illustration, which actually was what inspired her to get back into art work. She has illustrated two children’s books by Belmont writer Rose-Marie Robichaud: Dee’s Pig and Dee’s Extraordinary Rooster.
“Doing that got me interested and into it,” Susan says, noting that she also had done historic costuming before returning to painting.
Susan also enjoys figure drawing and sketching animals. “It helped when I did start teaching classes, and I enjoyed being with students.” In addition to the classes, Susan does commissioned work, and before the Coronavirus pandemic, she was planning to place some of her works in a gallery. She does have an exhibition planned for New Hampton School’s Galletly Gallery.
Her son, Tristan, is carrying on the family tradition as he enters Dartmouth College, planning to major in engineering and fine art.
For more information about Susan MacDonald and her open studio, visit Snow Dragon Studio on Facebook or call her directly at 603-455-3561.
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