About me.

As an artist and gardener, I experience the healing power of plants every time I dig in the garden or take a walk outdoors. Humans are hardwired to be in nature. My painting serves as a reminder of the vital relationship between people, plants, and the planet.

I look to neuroscience which confirms nature’s beneficial impact on our well-being from ordinary activities like a walk outdoors to simply looking at the colors found in nature. I create art to share my experience and reverence for nature and as a campaign to rekindle our lost connection with the natural world; explore the deep bond between man and nature, evident throughout art history from cave paintings to Renaissance altarpieces.

I work in oil or acrylics painting on canvas, wood, paper, fabric, or mylar. My nature paintings are typically 16”x 20” and size varies depending on the subject. Color is built in thin layers. Materials and tools used in the art making influence my hand. Shapes, color and lines are characters in the work and define the compositions which are intuitive interpretations of weeds, flowers, and landscapes, with a nod to awe. My style sits between figurative and abstraction.

Plants and the places they live are central themes in my work that captures the essence of the setting and beauty of plants while underscoring the critical roles in the ecosystem, in planetary health and our well-being.

I offer my work as a moment to pause and consider the healing power Mother Nature provides. Plants are integral to our well-being, our connection to planet Earth, and to each other.

Susan Malfa nature artist

C.V.

Profile:  Susan Malfa lives, paints and gardens in Amagansett, New York.  Born in Queens, NY, Susan enjoyed a career in media sales management. She holds a B.A. in Art, a Graduate Certificate in Leadership and Strategy and continues art study at NYC Crit Club, The Canopy Program 2.0. Susan’s art practice focuses on the natural world; plants, people and the planet. She has participated in group shows and has a recent solo show. Susan is an advisory member for CSA Quail Hill Farm and a literacy advocate tutoring reading to lower school students at Read 718 non-profit.

Education:

2023, 24, 25, 26 NYC Crit Club The Canopy Programs, Victoria Roth, Delphine Hennelly, Catherine Haggerty

2024, 25 NYC Crit Club Advanced Painting, Judy Glantzman            

2021, ‘22,’23, ‘24       Victor D’Amico Institute of Art, Michael Rosch, Jennifer Cross

2020, 2021         NY Botanic Gardens, Horticulture Therapy

2020                 Selby Gardens Art, Deborah Ross,

2019                 Golden Eagle Art, Janet Jennings,

2017, 2016         Brooklyn Botanic Garden Art; YMCA 86th Street, Allison Maletz,

2012                 NYU, School of Professional Studies Graduate Certificate, Leadership and Strategy

1977                 Queens College, BA Art

Solo Show

October 2025. The Center at Maple Grove, Kew Gardens, NY

Group Shows

May 2025 Springs Improvement Society Group Show, East Hampton, NY

September 2024 The Barge at Ashawagh, East Hampton, NY

January 2024 Soft Edge, NYC Crit Club, Chelsea, NY

October 2023              Guild Hall Member Show, East Hampton, NY

September  2023        Superfine Art Fair with Chashama, New York, NY

September 2023         Back at Ashawagh, East Hampton, NY       

September 2023         SYNT x The Front Gallery, New York, NY

March 2023                  Pelican Cove 2023 Art Show, Sarasota, Florida

September 2022         Superfine Art Fair with Chashama, New York, NY

April 2022.                     The Elements, Juried Show, Brooklyn Waterfront Artist Coalition, Red Hook, NY

June 2021                      Neoteric Abstract IV, Juried Show, Limner Gallery, Hudson, NY

Fall 2020, Spring 2021  BWAC Group Member Show, Brooklyn, NY

July 2020, 2021             Clothesline Art Show, Guild Hall, East Hampton, NY

Spring 2020                   Art from the Inside, BWAC Virtual Show

January 2020                Visions of Nature, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, NY

July 2000                       Art Barge Artists, Ashawagh Hall, East Hampton, NY

Artist Statement

I am a NY based artist and gardener.  The work I create is in a visual conversation about the beauty and awe of the natural world that surrounds us. The subtext is the health improvements for body and mind we experience when in nature, outdoors or caring for a houseplant. Plants in places on this planet Earth help us and visa versa.  In recognition of this vital relationship, as cultures around the world have always understood, we have to nurture and respect our natural surroundings.

My art is about being with nature, off our digital screens and in the real world. Action that will heal both people and the planet. My paintings are of plants, the places they exist, the beauty they offer and the role humans and plants play in our fragile ecosystem.

I paint on canvas, paper, mylar or panel primarily using oil paint but gouache, tempera, acrylics, pastels, pencils are in my tool box. I am fascinated by and include people’s hands in my work, our tools touching and impacting this planet.   Paintings are generally 16”x 20” in size. I scale the size of the work depending on the subject. For example, an oversized dandelion or thistle underscores the beauty of a weed, an essential plant for pollinators and our ecosystem.

My paintings are figurative and touch abstraction. Color, marks, lines are applied with varying speed and are characters in the composition. I work in thin paint layers and build the color depth. Each artwork is my take on a weed, flower, or place they live.  Plants are integral to our well-being, the planet’s health, our connection to planet Earth and each other.