Mary Susan Vaughn

Mary Susan Vaughn (b. 1959 Mary Susan Simms) is an Award Winning Artist.

Biography

Mary was born and raised in Maryland. The youngest of 3 children to Harry Lee and Mary Elizabeth (Van Fossen) Simms. She is married to Robert K. Vaughn, Jr. (m. 1993). Susan is the mother of 4 children, Kathleen (b. 1979), Kimberly (b. 1981), Sarah (b. 1994), and Matthew (b. 1996). She is also grandmother to 1 child, Glen (b. 1999) to her eldest daughter, Kathleen. Susan and her family currently reside in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Early Years

Susan's earliest years were spent in a small home in Silver Spring, Maryland. It was in these early years, attending Jackson Road Elementary School in Silver Spring, Maryland, that Susan realized her passion for fine art through the teachings and mentoring of her art teacher, Mrs. Nye, who would encourage the children to copy the masters of impressionism like Van Gogh, Renoir, and Monet. Her teacher would hang the children's paintings on her classroom walls. That experience sealed Susan's love for fine art and the impressionists.

Susan's father, Harry Lee Simms (1925 - 1980), owned his own Real Estate company, Simplex Land Corporation, from the 1960s until his death in 1980 of an aneurysm at the age of 55, seven days after moving from the family home in Brookeville, Maryland where Susan spent most of her youth, to a home in Lighthouse Point, Florida, where he and Susan's mother, Mary, could enjoy their retirement years.

Family and Politics

Her father was very active in politics during Susan's formidable years, and ran for U.S. Senate and U.S. Congress in the 1960s. He ran a very tight race in 1970 for United States Senate and lost to John Glenn Beall, Jr. His motto for his campaign was "Nixon needs Simms." Susan enjoyed being actively involved in her father's campaigns and parades in Washington, DC. After her father's 1970 Senate race loss, the family built and moved to a home on 7 acres in Brookeville, Maryland overlooking Tridelphia Lake and surrounded by horse farms where Susan painted frequently in oil and watercolors during her teenage years. She always carried a sketchbook and would often copy the landscape in which she lived.

The Olney Inn

In 1972, her father purchased the Olney Inn in Olney, Maryland. The Inn, formerly known as the Farquhar home Mt. Olney, opened in 1926 with three tables seating 12 persons. It grew over the years into a renowned dining destination of Presidents and dignitaries including President Franklin Roosevelt, the Shah of Iran, and too many Senators and Congressman to mention. Susan's entire family were immersed in the daily operations and functions of the Inn until its demise by fire in 1978 within hours of being sold. The inn burned rapidly, as the building was well over 150 years old and did not have firewalls necessary to slow the fire, and despite efforts of 18 pieces of firefighting equipment and more than a hundred firefighters.The fire was regarded an arson, but no arrests were ever made in connection with the fire. It was this fire and the tremendous personal and financial loss to the family that resulted in her father's first of several strokes which would ultimately cost him his life in 1980 at the age of 55.

Academics

Her higher academic studies were in International Relations and Law, all the time enjoying her self-study of Art History and Oil Painting while raising a family and going to school. After graduating from Georgetown University in Washington DC, Susan pursued her career as wife, mother, and teacher - successfully homeschooling her children. Her husband, Robert, encouraged her to follow her dream of being a visual artist and supported her every effort to build a studio around her passion for Fine Art. With encouragement from family and friends, her dreams became reality.

In addition to studies at Nova Southeastern University and Georgetown University, Susan received her higher academnic study of fine art at the Maryland College of Art and Design, the Academy of Art University, and also thru many workshops and class opportunities. She has studied under the tutelage of living masters such as Kevin MacPherson, Karin Wells, Johnnie Liliedahl, Peggy Baumgartner, and Richard Schmid, just to name a few, and has extensively studied the works of masters Helen VanWyk, Edward Hopper, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Mary Cassatt, Lilla Cabot Perry, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Winslow Homer, and Élisabeth-Louise Vigée-Le Brun.

In her professional career, Susan has sold her paintings to collectors around the world. She has had many successful exhibits and has won numerous competitions, awards, and recognition for her artwork.

Contributions to the Visual Arts Community

In 2006, Susan created "Red Easel" an association, source of information and instruction, and Gallery for visual artists around the world to exhibit their work and tell their story. It has become a successful community of visual artists to write, share, critique, learn, and locate valuable information. Red Easel supports the efforts of charities that promote the arts in the United States. All donations to Red Easel go to support the visual arts community through charitable contributions to organizataions like "Little Renoir" that teach and provide children in need with an opportunity to learn and grow in the field of visual arts.

Since 2000, Susan has been teaching painting and art history to children as a charitable contribution to the community and offering her time and instruction to children in need who otherwise would not have access to art instruction. She also continues to take these efforts to the children of impoverished communities and providing them with art instruction, supplies, encouragement, and exhibition opportunities through her organization called "Little Renoir."

Awards

2007/2008 Awards:

Paint America Paint the Parks Top 100 2007/2008

Painting Honored: "Horses Near Fence on Mount Rainier" 2007

Sold: Kolb Gallery, Grand Canyon

Her painting traveled the country for 1 year with 100 of the finest paintings representing the National Parks in the United States.

2005/2006 Awards:

(Not yet listed)

2003/2004 Awards:

(Not yet listed)

2001/2002 Awards:

(Not yet listed)

1999/2000 Awards:

(Not yet listed)

Publications

Mary Susan Vaughn is listed in the 2008-2009 and the 2008-2009 Who's Who in Visual Art. She was a "Featured Artist of the Month" in the publication Curry's," 2004. Susan's painting, "Horses Near Fence on Mount Rainier" is also featured in the Paint America Top 100 2007/2008 publication of the winning works.

Exhibitions

Patriotism Exhibition July - Aug, 2007

Capitol Arts Network

Washington Gallery, Bethesda, Maryland

“America’s Promise” - First Place

About the painting: America's Promise

America's Promise, 36x54 Oil on Canvas was created by Fine Artist, Mary Susan Vaughn in 2002. This painting has received a lot of recognition and has won several awards. DONATED. America's Promise has been donated to the USS Theodore Roosevelt and will be on permanent display in the Commanding Officer's VIP Quarters until decommission of the ship which has fought in every major war since its christening in October, 1986.

Paint the Parks Top 100 Aug 2007 - July 2008

Paint America

National Traveling Exhibition

“Mount Rainier Horses” - Top 100 Winner

About the painting: Horses Near Fence on Mount Rainier

Horses Near Fence on Mount Rainier, 16x20 Oil on Panel. These magnificent horses are seen near Mount Rainier and Olympic National Park, in Washington State. This painting completed a tour in various Galleries across the United States with the "2007 Paint the Parks Top 100" Exhibition. SOLD. Kolb Gallery in the Grand Canyon.

Additional Exhibits

Matthew’s Art Festival Sept. 1-3, 2007

Matthews Alive, Matthews, North Carolina

Matthews ArtFest Sept. 2007

Matthews Chamber of Commerce

Matthews, North Carolina

Remembrance Exhibition Sept. 2002

The Marshall Gallery, Greensboro, North Carolina

“America’s Promise” - Honorable Recognition

2000/2001 Exhibits:

(Not yet listed)

1998/1999 Exhibits:

(Not yet listed)

1996/1997 Exhibits:

(Not yet listed)

Art Organizations

* North Carolina Arts & Science Council
* Christians in Portraiture
* Union County Community Arts Council
* Oil Painters of America
* American Artists Professional League

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