Suzy Moritz-Rawdin. Photo by Kim Ritzenthaler Leeson
Photo by Kim Ritzenthaler Leeson
Versatility and artistic fearlessness are two of Lakewood artist Suzy Moritz-Rawdin’s greatest assets. Moritz-Rawdin experiments with many mediums and many subjects, simply painting whatever speaks to her. “I just love all of it,” she says. “I’m not afraid of anything. I think that’s the thing, is that I’m not afraid to try any of it.” Around East Dallas, she’s recognized as the creative brain behind the house paintings for the Junius Heights Home Tour, which are featured in the tour brochure. She also painted the historic Junius Heights streetcar that adorns the cover. When painting a house, “I have to take a picture and get a feel for the outside of the house,” she explains. “Each house has its own personality. You can see the love these people put into their homes.” Her paintings aren’t perfect architectural replicas of the buildings, she says, but rather whimsical, artistic renditions. Moritz-Rawdin also drew 400 original ink drawings that are featured in the guest bedrooms of the new Omni Convention Center Hotel in downtown Dallas. Aside from structural art, she’s known for her pet portraits, which are packed with personality and artistic flair. “My pet portraits, they just speak to me. I have to paint the eyes first because I talk to the pets while I paint,” she says, laughing. Skies also “speak to her,” or maybe that’s just her excuse to travel to beautiful New Mexico once a year to paint the vivid colors and breathtaking southwestern skylines. “I see the world in light and shadows,” she says, and explains that’s a trait she picked up from her mother, who was also an artist. “I can envision something and then draw it. I’ll see something and say, ‘Oh, that’s so paintable.’”
