As the heat of summer recedes into our skin and the last tomatoes wither on the vine, Susan looks forward to the approaching autumnal equinox. September 22 marks not only the first day of autumn, but also the point in the year when night and day are of equal length, the midpoint between the brightness of summer and the darkness of winter.

If you stroll into the Naples International Art & Antique Fair this weekend, guess whose painting will be the first to welcome you? Susan's of course! Autumn Blaze II, a Swartz signature piece, graces the opening of the pavilion.

The Seasons of the Soul exhibition has finally wrapped up at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C. While Susan’s paintings coming down from the museum walls, the leaves are coming down from the aspens and Gambel oak trees surrounding Susan’s studio in Park City.

Autumn may be Susan’s favorite season to paint in the mountains. The bright, brisk mornings and warm Indian Summer afternoons just beg for walks through the forest—walks that in Susan’s case, provide gratitude for Nature’s divine beauty and inspire a thousand new brush strokes with each step. The rust-colored maple leaves that carpet the trails and the shock of golden aspens against the hillside will surely find their way onto Susan’s canvas. Be sure to get outside and let the beauty of the season inspire your own creativity!