Date: Fri 13-Sep-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Illustration: C

Location: A12

Quick Words:

Dorazio-Grey-Horse-equine

Full Text:

(short on Susan Dorazio show at Grey Horse Gallery, 9/13/96)

Gallery Saddles A Spirited Horse

(with photo)

By Kaaren Valenta

"The Spirited Horse II," an exhibit by noted equine artist Susan Dorazio, will

be featured at The Grey Horse Gallery in Sandy Hook during September and

October.

A member of the American Academy of Equine Art, Susan Dorazio has painted

nearly every breed of horse in every equine discipline, in oil, watercolor,

and pen and ink. Her works, which have captured regional and national awards,

hang in the private collections of horse owners across the country as well as

at the Fine Line Art Gallery in Woodbury, Chatellier Fine Arts in Millbrook,

NY, and the Hunt Club Gallery in Dover, MA.

A Waterbury resident, Susan Dorazio has been painting and drawing for more

than thirty years. From sporting art to horses running free, draft horses to

miniature horses, she is inspired by the horse itself, creating works in a

realistic, yet painterly, style.

She exhibits yearly at shows held by the American Academy of Equine Art in

Middlebury, VA, Harness Tracks of America, the Connecticut Watercolor Society,

and the Draft Horse Classic. In 1994 her watercolor "Winter Sleigh Bells II"

won Best in Show at the Eighth Annual Draft Horse Classic in Grass Valley, CA.

The following year the sponsoring organization used it as both a limited

edition print and a poster.

Several of her paintings of trotters and pacers have been honored by Harness

Tracks of America. And, in 1990, the American Academy of Equine Art presented

her with its Ruth Ellison Robins Award for a watercolor, "Between Friends."

Her work also has been on the covers of Chronicle of the Horse, Horse World

USA and Horses Monthly.

"A painting is an expression, a feeling," she said in a recent interview.

"It's not a photograph. It's an artist's interpretation. Granted I paint

realistically, but I try to maintain a painterly quality. An artist's goal, I

think, is to capture the soul of the creature he or she is painting.

"Each horse, whether it's a champion or your best friend, has something that's

uniquely its own," she continued. "That's what I'm after - that spark."

Grey Horse Gallery is located at 4 Washington Avenue in the historic post

office building in Sandy Hook Center. It is open from 10 am to 5 pm Tuesday

through Saturday.