A native Mississippian, Susie Thomas Ranager has lived and painted on the Gulf Coast for 30 years – calling Ocean Springs home. She is a well-known regional artist whose work is represented in numerous corporate and private collections. Her work encompasses a number of disciplines including painting, printmaking, mixed media and assemblage.
Susie graduated from Mississippi State University with a degree in Commercial Art in 1975. She has worked as a commercial artist for Delta Design Group; Art Director for Delta Scene Magazine, Workshop Coordinator and Collections Curator for Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art in Biloxi. All the while she has pursued her own personal artistic expressions and in 2003, she dedicated herself to being a full-time professional studio artist.
Artist statement:
I am not an academic. I rely heavily on the ‘happy accident’. This is what floats my boat. My style has developed gradually over the years. In retrospect, I think what I do is contingent on what I use. My materials, and the process of using them almost always dictates the final product.
I work full time as a studio artist and find my inspirations all around me whether it be the Barrier Islands or my own back yard. I love my Horn Island landscapes but I also love my mixed media pieces.
What can be finer than working every day at what you love? I am one lucky girl.
OCEAN SPRINGS-BILOXI BRIDGE PROJECT
Susie was one of four artists selected to receive a $5000 stipend to have her original artwork translated into a permanent installation. The completed project now enhances the western gateway of the Ocean Springs-Biloxi Bridge that was rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina. The competition was sponsored by the City of Ocean Springs and the Mississippi Department of Public Transportation and was completed in 2008.
RECENT AWARDS
Winner Ocean Springs/Biloxi Bridge Public Arts Competition, Spring, 2008
Best of Show, Mississippi Art Colony competition, Spring, 2008
Best of Show, Singing River Art Asssociation Exhibition, Spring, 2008
Juror’s Award, Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art National Juried Exhibition, Summer, 2008
Best of Show, Ocean Springs Art Association Annual Exhibition , Fall, 2008