ABOUT

Sudi’s deep conviction is that the power of imagination and skill brought to great art and design throughout the ages (whether a painting or pillow, an illustration or package design, a rug or a bowl) is to imbue these things with life and animation. Bringing understanding or enlightenment of some sort, esthetics, joy, affection or pleasure through art and design is an endeavor that never ceases to interest and challenge Sudi to design and create in so many different areas.

Sudi has an extensive background as a designer (both graphic design and surface design),  as an illustrator and as a fine artist.  After she received her B.F.A. in fine arts from California College of the Arts in Oakland, CA, she immediately switched gears and launched her graphic design career. She ended up as an art director at an advertising agency in Silicon Valley.

While at the agency, encouraged by the interest of collectors for some of her commissioned posters from her corporate clients (such as IBM and Sprint), Sudi built an art print publishing business.  This business quickly became very successful and placed Sudi’s art in galleries all across the country, as well as internationally. Prints from this publishing business are currently available in the Art Prints section of her website under Vintage Prints.  New prints from Sudi will be available in the near future.

McCollum’s Art Prints are depictions of plants and animals. Her subject matter, simplicity of line and form and subtle pictorial technique have been compared to those of Japanese print artists of the Edo period.  The most arresting aspect of her art is her striking and inventive use of color. She often employs combinations of hues that the viewer suspects have never been acquainted before, yet the sum is at once harmonious, appropriate and tranquil. McCollum’s frequent use of metallic foils and embossing contribute to a rich and understated elegance. Her use of an embossed artist’s chop, which varies from print to print, adds to the unique character of her work and has become a McCollum trademark.

Illustration work for packaging, publishing and other promotional materials is a source of great fun for Sudi.   She loves problem solving and working with clients to help  communicate their product, goal and/or purpose with her artwork.

For her illustration work, McCollum has received a considerable number of awards from prestigious design organizations including The American Institute of Graphic Arts,  GRAPHIS Magazine, (Gold Medal for branding for Bellwether Farms),  The New York Society of Illustrators, The Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles and The Western Art Directors Club. 

Adding Surface Design and Licensing to her design skill set has seen Sudi creating dinnerware collections, rug and pillow collections, home accents and accessories influenced by all the art genres that have always fascinated her. American Shaker art, the Arts and Crafts Movement,  Japanese and medieval woodblock prints as well as French and European country motifs, are among the genres which aremost often reflected in Sudi’s work.  Her eclectic versatility and extensive background keep her work truly unique and fresh.  Of surface design, Sudi says:   “I’m doing what I’ve always wanted to do:  I’m designing...stuff!  I’ve always had this dream of an entirely aesthetic universe. Got to start somewhere. I’m starting with...stuff !”

CLIENTS

3M
Albertsons
Atlantic Bell
Baltimore Gas &  Electric
Bellwether Farms
Birkenstock
Bon Appetit Magazine
Certified International
Cost Plus World Market
CR Gibson
Dakota Homes
Dansk
Dartmouth Medical Center
Dauphin Bank
Dreyer Sonoma
Duty-Free Shopping
Federal Express
Fieldcrest
Galison Publishing
Gango Editions
Graphique de France
GTE Credit Card
Harper Collins
New Era Magazine
Nordstroms
Pacific Bell
Paula's
Marcel Schurman
Paul Masson
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Orvis
Pebble Beach Inn
Peking Handicraft
Pepsi
Peter Pauper Press
Plow and Hearth
Pizza Hut
Publications International
Quaker
Random House
Regal Rugs
Running Press
Sadek
Sellers Publishing
Sourcebooks
Sprint
Star Designs
Texas Monthly Magazine
Toyota
Uncle Ben's Rice
Unicef
Wild Apple Graphics
Workman Publishing