Sue Martine

February 29, 2024

Text by Rich Hayden

A hillside super bloom. Fire reflecting on a river. Clouds hanging languidly over a mountaintop. These are some of the images that Sue Martine’s paintings evoke. They may be abstract but fit right into LA’s ever-changing topography. Sue’s growth and the city’s growth happen side by side.

Ranging from 12 x 18 to 24 x 36 inches, the images sit at the intersection of painting and collage. As Sue says, “It's like collage meets reincarnation.” Her process involves deconstructing and reusing her previous images to create new ones.  As a self-described nature geek, her pieces reference aerial views, horizons or waterways. “I'm interested in how a landscape can visually shift depending on conditions. For example, massive rains can trigger super blooms by activating seeds that have long been dormant. That's a delicious concept to me,” she told me.

She’s a long time Los Angeles resident but we both hail from New York. I find her work to be a dialogue between the bravado of life in LA and the city’s shifting natural beauty. The energy of a piece such as “FAFO” (Fuck Around and Find Out) contrasts with the organic elegance of “Superbloom Va Voom.” The feelings couldn’t be more different but in exist in this city at the exact same time. That, in a nutshell, is life in LA.

You can find Sue on IG at @sue.martine.art