EMPTY GARDEN, HERO’S GARDEN
Featuring The Beatles

The Story of Empty Garden, Hero’s Garden

If there is a way to take something that is reasonably easy to understand and make it complex, Suchiu will find it. If he can’t find it he will create it. Why? We will probably never really know, that’s just Suchiu. Make “finding that out ” your ultimate challenge if you wish.

This painting is definitely going to take some explaining. It is a perfect example of our first statement. Yet in this piece, he is taking something that starts off rather complex and turns it into a symphony of sophisticated visual translation. It is proof that he lives his life with an “I’ll see you and raise you one” attitude.

John Lennon + Elton John + Suchiu = Empty Garden, Hero’s Garden

Eight weeks of planning and painting, yet a long way to go… Paul and Ringo head back across Abbey Road to visit their old friends… John peers out of the door… “Hey Johnny, won’t you come out and play in the Hero’s Garden?”…

Suchiu feels that paintings should be “imagination seeds” that are planted in the viewer’s mind… he will give you a starting place with a concept and tell you only as much as he feels you need to know. Then you’re on your own to figure them out the rest of the story. A story that is meant to grow like an entire tree; first expanding out from roots, developing a trunk, branches, and twigs then budding, flowering and bearing fruit, and onto shedding its leaves in the fall… etc… etc. His paintings are intended to take on an evolving life… all of their own.

The painting got its start from Suchiu’s earliest concept of producing paintings that interpret his favorite songs. The very first song that he committed to his soul to be painted was ” by Paul McCartney, which has yet to be produced. The second song he devoted to his production conscience was Elton John’s “Empty Garden”. The third being “Candle In The Wind” which has a real neat Suchiu twist and is scheduled for 2006. He says there are so many painted song concepts already inside of him that he feels cursed by them at times.

John Lennon In Elton’s song he speaks of “Johnny” living in a “brownstone” which is portrayed as the entire left half of the image. If you look closely just to the right of the building… off in the distance you can see a surreal image of an entrance door to the place where John and Yoko actually lived. The Dakota is a gorgeous stone apartment building located directly across the street from Central Park and the spot now designated as Strawberry Fields…

In the song, Elton sings “So, I keep knocking, but no one answers. I keep knocking, for most of the day. And I keep calling hey hey Johnny, won’t you come out and play” This time we catch Johnny peering out as if to say “don’t worry I am still with you and I always will be”

Paul and Ringo We all remember the Abbey Road album… now this is where the painting becomes surreal. Imagine you’ve magically jumped into the cover and have walked a block down the road. You then turn around to see Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney heading back in the opposite direction to the original cover to revisit their lost friends John and George.

but where’s George He will be here by the time Suchiu completes the painting. Look on the extreme right-hand side of the image, about a quarter of the way

up and you will see the Abbey Road crossing marks repeated on the ground. As the painting nears completion Suchiu will be painting a translucent image of George just walking off of the canvas to the right representing the fact that he has just recently left us. He is in the same clothes and stance as the album cover. All of these parts of Suchiu’s visual translation are meant to be what he calls “poetic clues of real-life built into a surreal scene.”

sparky… who is sparky?

Suchiu has a habit of naming his cars. The little pink and black car in the background is one that he bought for his wife Colleen to putts around town in and of course its name is Sparky. It is a rare 1957 Nash Metropolitan convertible with a monster 37 horsepower engine… Suchiu jokes ” when all four cylinders are running and it’s very rare that all four are!” Sparky is slated to be in the opening scenes of a comedy movie that will be produced over the next year or two called “Your Wildest Dreams”. Ron Suchiu was hired on to be involved as an art consultant for this flick.

The Naked Hero

Most people who know Colleen and Ron Suchiu would certainly be aware that Colleen has successfully finished a two-year fight against a very aggressive form of cancer. She has been given a perfect bill of health and is feeling more energetic, than ever before, toward her position as Ron’s soul-mate, partner, “Vice President Of Operations” and “Publicist To The Artist”. When Ron Suchiu describes this chapter of their lives you start to realize just what a powerful person Colleen is.

So it makes great sense that she has been added to this masterpiece as a Guardian Angel.

Colleen had been asked to pose nude in an avant-garde picture for a cancer charity fundraiser calendar that was based around the movie “Calendar Girls”. Ron thought the photo was so beautifully accomplished that he decided to use it in the Hero’s Garden.

Colleen becomes a perfect hero for Suchiu to add because of the immense respect she has earned from so many people as they watched her move through this horrific struggle with unwavering mental strength, her willingness to fight, and never complain no matter how much the medicines affected her. She faced every day as a new adventure and actually managed to find many positives in what she was going through. Get to know her… she is inspiring.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does secondary market mean?

When a limited edition print series sells out, they become only available on the secondary market, where they are sold between collectors and from Suchiu Art at sometimes double, triple or even quadruple the original retail price because of their high demand, rarity and collectability. 

What are limited edition prints?

Unlike an open edition print series that can be endlessly reproduced, in a limited edition print series, the artist restricts the total number of prints to be produced so it will maintain its collectability throughout the test of time, therefore increasing its monetary value. A limited edition print series is broken down again into three categories: press proofs, artist proofs and signed and numbered.

What types of limited edition prints are there?

Press Proofs

When an artist does a limited edition print series of an original painting, the first few prints that come off the press are called press or printer proofs. The first few samples that are printed off are put to the side as press proofs, having been ‘proofed’ by the person running the press prior to the artist’s arrival. Usually, press proofs only make up about 1% of the entire print run. 

Artist Proofs

During a print run, the artist and the person running the press will intermittently pull samples and set them aside for proofing. Traditionally, press proofs would be proofed by the press operator and artist proofs would be proofed by the artist. At Suchiu Art, artist proofs make up only about 10% of a given limited edition print series.

Signed & Numbered

The majority of a limited edition print run is designated to a series called signed and numbered. The signed and numbered limited edition print series contains the largest quantity of reproductions for that specific painting. Nonetheless, the total quantity of prints produced in a given signed and numbered limited edition print series will still be restricted in comparison to demand to maintain a sense of urgency for collectors and retain the print series overall value. 

Do you offer shipping?

Yes! Whether you are ordering a limited edition print unframed or with a frame, we can ship your order to you anywhere across North America and beyond. Each order is handled with the utmost care and packaged with protection to ensure it is received by you in the same condition that it left our gallery.