It's watercolors with a little extra at Knot gallery

During March and April, The Knot gallery in the Pine Knot News office is exhibiting the work of Sue Brown Chapin. Sue employs unique watercolor techniques to give her works depth and sometimes an ethereal quality. On March 12, as part of the Carlton County spring art roundabout, you can meet Sue and enjoy a wide range of her paintings 5-8 p.m. at The Knot gallery. A talk with the artist will begin about 6 p.m. with time for questions to follow.

Born and raised in Carlton, Sue learned to paint from her mother, Betty Brown, Carlton’s longtime postmaster.

“I did a lot of arts and crafts growing up, including at Carlton High School,” she said. “My mother opened a gallery in Carlton, the Betty D. Brown Studio Gallery, where she taught painting and sold works. I watched her paint for decades.”

Beginning around 2005, Sue worked there part-time. “I wanted to give watercolors a try, and asked her to teach me. She gave me two or three days’ worth of technique lessons.”

Betty Brown had quite a following. Her work sold at galleries in Duluth and up the North Shore, and she also made prints and cards from her work for sale. Sue began to do this also. Sue and Betty worked together at the gallery every day.

For Brown Chapin it has never been a full-time job. In 2010, they closed the gallery, but Sue has continued to paint at home.

She has been serving as clerk for Twin Lakes Township, a job that she loves. “It’s administrative,” she said. “So both sides of my brain get a lot of exercise.”

Brown Chapin’s paintings at the Pine Knot seem three-dimensional, the backgrounds softly disappearing into a background of rocks and trees, drawing the viewer into the painting. Mother Betty developed it in the 1990s by experimenting.

“I stayed away from that, because it was Mom’s thing. It was more or less her bread and butter. But a few years before she died, Mom said one day, ‘I need to teach you this technique.’ So the legacy continues.”

Sue rarely draws or sketches out her paintings before she begins. “No pencil on paper first. I paint as the spirit moves me.” She tries not to set limits on subject matter or techniques.

Brown Chapin’s paintings depict a wide array of subjects. Her exhibit at the Pine Knot offers abstract landscapes, often in browns and soft blues. She’s grown into it over time. “I’m definitely looser and less afraid than I used to be,” she said.

In addition to watercolors, her works sometimes incorporate collage. Other paintings in the Pine Knot exhibit include realism with birds and one called “Sticky Fingers,” a portrait of a young girl absorbed in eating a s’more.

Brown Chapin teaches classes at The Historic Scott House, where she offers a one-day “Intro to Watercolor” course as well as intermediate classes. Most classes run five to six hours, often structured around a new idea.

“I’ll never retire from art,” Brown Chapin said. “I have a gallery in Cloquet at the Presbyterian Church building, and I also exhibit at big outdoor shows like the Chester Bowl Fall Fest and Lester River Rendezvous.” Her works sell at Northwoods Pioneer and Carlton Gateway Goods, among other retailers, including prints and cards as well as originals.

“Maybe I’ll retire from the businessy stuff,” she said, “but not from painting.”

In addition to her creative and teaching work, Brown Chapin is also an arts leader. She is president of Artists of Minnesota, and puts together its spring conference that offers opportunities to exhibit and learn from others. She has created her own website, http://www.suebrownchapin.com.

“The internet has really helped artists gain recognition and sales,” she said. “It’s enabled greater awareness of work and art business techniques. Facebook’s business page is good, too, for marketing work and connecting with students.”

Her work is also for sale at The Knot gallery.

Editor's note: If you're reading this story online, click on the pdf version of this story and scroll to Page 13 for more information on the other March 12 Roundabout stops displayed on a full-page advertisement in this week's issue.