It’s not often someone makes a career out of something they love to do. But, neighborhood artist Sue Ellen Brown is one of the lucky few who has.
A Lakewood resident for more than 12 years, Brown works as a commercial artist, using the money she makes to finance her own, personal art.
She has been involved in advertising and illustration work since she received a degree from the University of North Texas in 1977. She worked as a full-time artist right out of school with Don Ivan Punchatz, a nationally known artist in Arlington.
After working with Punchatz, Brown went freelance. She does book illustrations, greeting card designs and advertising.
She works primarily with airbrush, in both her commercial and fine art, but prefers to refer to her process as “mixed media.” She doesn’t like to be limited to just one medium and is beginning to experiment with collage.
“I’m trying to push myself to be more creative,” she says.
She sometimes uses friends and neighborhood residents as models, when needed.
Brown does most of her work in series. She is currently working on 12 paintings, each representing a different sign of the Zodiac. Although this is something she is doing for herself, she hopes to find a greeting card or poster company that might be interested in her ideas.
“I’m usually aiming at having a body of work that will lend itself to a show, and also a series allows me to fully explore an idea,” Brown says.
Brown’s work is available for purchase. To view it, call 823-9545.
