Skip to content

One Fantastical Garden

July 7, 2022

For Susan McLaughlin, her wooded, lakeside house in Newtown, CT plays an influential role in her artistic vision as a magical realist painter. By providing her with an environment that comes alive with the sights and sounds of nature, she’s able to closely study as an explorer would by uncovering, recording, and rearranging the beauty of the natural world and the beauty of human beings.

This connection to nature comes from her horticultural interest manifested in the daily ritual of digging and pruning in her Connecticut garden. A daily ritual of physical immersion with the dirt and the worms of life contrasts with the otherworldly fantastical spaces she creates for her paintings. The paradoxical character of these two places imbues her paintings with an alluring mystery.

Enjoy this visual tour as we bring Susan’s property to life through images that depict the relationship between her paintings and gardens.
The alluring entrance to a beautiful garden setting.
Foxglove Cottage in full view.
A warm welcome.
The perfect spot for morning coffee.
Lady of the House
Taking center stage.
Hydrangeas and clematis in full bloom.
Reflective blooms.
A perfect head of flowers.
Untitled design (25)
Midnight Rose
Photography by: Kimberly Charles