When she was about 5 years old, Suzette Lebenzon’s father took her to Welch’s and bought her a
set of real artist watercolors and a pad of paper.
“I used up all the materials that same day,” Lebenzon said of that introduction into a world of
painting. “Shortly after, my oldest sister brought me to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
I remember walking down the hall looking at the Impressionists and being wowed. That was it. It
was over.”
Lebenzon is now a featured artist at the Front Street Art Gallery, and her work will be featured in
the gallery’s “Go with the Flow” exhibit which runs from Feb. 4 to 28. The gallery, filled with
paintings and photographs of boats, swimmers, serene seascapes and flowing rivers, is
showcasing the beauty of nature.
“Any opportunity to share my artwork is appreciated,” Lebenzon said. “I grew up in Scituate
and have returned to this area after a long and winding road of moves from California to Maine
and beyond.”
Her work, a watercolor of the Monhegan Lighthouse, appeared in a juried show at the Front
Street Art Gallery in 2018. She joined the gallery this past October and her paintings have been
consistently shown there.
“Having my work featured in my hometown, in such a lovely gallery, is a full circle moment and
it feels good.”
The paintings featured in Go with the Flow evolved during the beginning of the pandemic,
Lebenzon said.
“The isolation made me long for the freedom and frolicking one can enjoy at the beach. I chose
to take an aerial point of view and depict people playing on the edge where the sand meets the
water. It occurred to me after I was about three paintings in to the series, that I was separating
myself from the people by taking this perspective. Unconsciously, I was distancing. I wanted the
work to be joyous and carefree.”
She is inspired by the ocean, marshes, and coastal cottages, she said.
“I have ‘a thing’ for telephone poles and wires. I like to explore unexpected juxtaposition of
color and play with changing perspectives.”
She also does pet portraits, which she fell into after painting a portrait of her beau’s dog as a gift.
A Scituate native, Lebenzon’s formal art education started in 1979 in Texas and continued in
California, progressing “ever so slowly,” she said.
Twenty-three years after she started her art degree, she finished it in Vermont.
“There was a lot of life in between; I raised a family and had a nursing career. Throughout most
of it, I always had a studio and I always painted.”
She chooses her next project when “something just pops into my head as a subject I’d like to
explore or I witness a scene I’d like to paint.”
Over the last couple of years she has attempted to paint daily but realized not too long ago that
it’s okay to take a day off to recharge.
“I paint mostly in the mornings and never start anything after 3 p.m.,” she said. “I just don’t
have the energy at that point in the day.”
While she has too many favorite artists to mention, David Hockney, Wayne Thiebaud, Richard
Diebenkorn, and Matisse “all move me,” she said.
“I enjoy so many contemporary artists, some undiscovered, that I find on Instagram. There is
some amazing work out there.”
Lebenzon has had solo shows at Drift, Wellfleet; Government Center; Santa Cruz CA~ Recent
Works in the Redwoods; Thomas Spenser Gallery, Yarmouth ME; Reed Gallery, Chester VT.
She will be showing her work in a solo show at The Commons in Provincetown this summer,
something she is “thrilled” about.
“The show is ‘Cape Dreams.’ I’m working on large canvases exploring Cape topography,
inspired by dreams, Google Earth, and experiences.”
Painting is a creative challenge and an intellectual activity, she said.
“There are many decisions to be made when creating a piece. When I work, and get into the
flow, time stops and I am truly present. It’s mystical.”
Follow Suzette Macdonald Lebenzon Art on Facebook, or find her on Instagram
@suzettelebenzon
For more information on the Front Street Art Gallery visit frontstreetartgallery.com
About the Artwork
BOOM!BOOM!BOOM!, captures the artist’s fond memories of the Knights of Columbus Carnival and special love for the fireworks display over the harbor. The original oil painting was donated to honor her brother-in-law, Bill Limbacher, in gratitude for his efforts in being part of bringing the carnival to the community for over forty years. Bill graciously donated the original painting and it is hanging in the Knights of Columbus Hall.
These 18x18 limited edition numbered prints (1-55) are available for a donation of $150 or $160 for a specific numeric request, plus shipping and handling. Accepting Pre Orders Now for early June 2025.
About the Artist
Suzette Lebenzon has painted since her childhood in Scituate. She has kept a studio and shown in galleries most of her adult life. She has a degree in fine art with a concentration in painting. Suzette’s studio practice is based out of Wellfleet, MA.
A recipient of the Mass Cultural Council’s Unrestricted Artists’ Grants in 2023, Suzette was also inducted to the National Association of Women Artists, as a Signature Member, that year.
She teaches at The Art Complex Museum in Duxbury and at The North River Art Society in Marshfield.
Her work can be seen at the AMZehnder Gallery in Wellfleet, MA; and the BBLG Gallery in Smithtown, NY. Instagram: @suzettelebenzon , Web: www.suzettelebenzonpaintings.com
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