About Me
My name is Susan Keeter.
I’m an artist who Illustrates books and paints portraits; a writer of articles, speeches, and grants; a designer who creates annual reports, book jackets, and building signs; and a teacher of writing and art for children and adults.
Everything I do focuses on celebrating the value of all people, whether it’s the groundbreaking work of a physician, the contributions of an unsung hero, or the artistic talent of a small child.
I live in Syracuse, New York, near the universities, in a multicultural neighborhood that is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Awards, Grants & Presentations
AWARDS: CNY Writers Award; NAACP Image award nominee; Bank St. College Best Children’s Books; Best Book, Society of School Librarians Intl.; Black History and President’s Award for Advancement of Diversity and Affirmative Action (SUNY Upstate); SUNY CUAD; Association of American Medical Colleges; YWCA Diversity Achievers; Syracuse City School District; Paul Robeson Performing Arts Company; Salvation Army.
GRANTS: Jim & Juli Boeheim Foundation (recipient); NYS Council on the Arts (judge and recipient), Episcopal Diocese of CNY (recipient), Collegiate Science and Technology Program (judge), Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (judge), University United Professions (recipient).
​
PRESENTATIONS: Empowering Girls, Women’s History at VA, Global Health at RIT, Albany Book Festivals, Auburn and Syracuse Schools, Tubman Home, Seymour Library, Civil War Round Table, Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Blanden Memorial Art Museum
​Pictured: Photo of me —Susan Keeter — at the NAACP Image Awards for the book, "Honey Baby, Sugar Child" (illustrated by me, written by Alice Faye Duncan). Illustration from "Sunday's Wheels," an award-winning book I wrote and illustrated for schools in Ghana.
Pictured: Me, age 5, at a drawing session with my mother and other artists including, from left, sculptor Arlene Abend, illustrator Ivan Powell, Betty Mason, and Hall Groat. (From the Syracuse Herald-American)
Becoming an Artist
When I was young, my mother (artist Carolyn Keeter/later Carolyn Berry) took me to art classes and gallery receptions. Around the time this photo was taken, I made a sculpture out of a glass Coca-Cola bottle, glue, cloth, paint, and feathers. I gave my sculpture to the gallery owner, Bob Appleton, who sold it.
He thought I’d be thrilled to be a "child prodigy" artist, but I was sad that I’d never see my artwork again.
When I was 9, my parents divorced and married other people, giving me four good parents. My mother and stepfather ran an art school in our home, Skylark Studios. With students and clients in the house, it meant answering the phone politely and keeping my room tidy. It also taught me a lot about drawing, painting, art history, graphic design, and teaching.
From my mother, artist Carolyn Berry: I learned to love painting portraits, teaching and I developed a “nose for news.”
From my stepfather, artist Paul Berry: I learned scrupulous honesty and a love of history. He revered nature and painted beautiful landscapes. Every time I need to paint a landscape, I think, “Dad, help!”
From my father, Ed Keeter: I learned ballroom dancing, fishing, card playing, and how to laugh very loud.
From my stepmother, Rosemary Keeter: I learned the joy of picnics, days at the beach, singing around the piano, and celebrating holidays.
