Susanne Schuenke wants you to know that an oil painting doesn't fall from the sky. The idea behind it, though, might.

The German-American artist, who holds a doctorate in art history from the University of Cologne, laid out her creative process in a new essay published on the Beaches Museum website on Wednesday, Aug. 19. The piece accompanies her upcoming solo exhibit, "Aspects of Oil Painting: Ideal to Oil Canvas," which opens with a reception Friday, Aug. 28, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the museum, 381 Beach Blvd. in Jacksonville Beach.

"For an artist, creativity is like the water for the fish to swim," Schuenke wrote. "Being so used to it, the fish does not write essays about the nature of water but focuses on healthy fins and smooth waves."

From Sketch to Canvas: A Three-Step Process

She did write the essay, though, and it walks visitors through a three-stage process: an intuitive first drawing on paper, a watercolor that refines composition and color, and the final oil painting. Schuenke notes she always keeps paper and pen within reach because, as her parents told her, "an idea does not come twice."

The exhibit highlights works where that process played out differently. Three paintings — "Still Waiting" (a radio telescope), "Arbor Vitae" (a vigorously growing tree) and "Percussion" (a percussionist) — skipped the watercolor stage entirely and went straight to canvas. Another, "Cosmic Brain Mind," includes a rare line-by-line reconstruction of how the drawing developed, begun out of boredom while Schuenke waited in a place of inactivity.

Two watercolors, "Cornwall 1" and "Cornwall 2," hang side by side to show what stylization means in practice. The first was painted on cliffs in western England; the second translates that scene into simplified lines and shapes.

Schuenke's works appear in private, museum, corporate and public collections across Europe, Asia and the United States. Her large butterfly painting "Give Me Wings" hangs at Mayo Clinic Hospital in Florida. The National League of American Pen Women reported that she received a ROWITA (Recognizing Outstanding Women in the Arts) honor.

The exhibit is supported in part by the Merit-Based Cultural Service Grant Program, administered by the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville with funding from the city of Jacksonville. Artwork will be available for purchase at the reception, with a portion of proceeds benefiting the museum.

A gallery tour led by Schuenke is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 24, at 11 a.m.

If You Go

  • Opening reception: Friday, Aug. 28, 6 to 8 p.m.
  • Gallery tour: Saturday, Oct. 24, 11 a.m.
  • Where: Beaches Museum, 381 Beach Blvd., Jacksonville Beach
  • Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 4 p.m. Closed Mondays.
  • Admission: Free. Phone: 904-241-5657