Brushstrokes of a Life Well Lived

From NASA to Flat Creek, Suttles' journey through love, loss, and legacy comes to life

9:26 a.m. July 16, 2025

HALEY PAYNE ROBERTS
MCO Senior Staff Writer

It isn’t every day that you come across a painting that can be easily mistaken for a photograph. In fact, when it comes to art, only names like Kahlo, Monet, Picasso, Rembrandt, van Gogh, and da Vinci come to mind. However, the folks of Flat Creek can add another name to their list of well-known, amazing artists – Robert “Mutt” Suttles.

In his Flat Creek studio located behind the Sunchaser Market, Suttles devotes the majority of his time to his portraits, which may very well fool you as expertly taken photographs upon first glance. Suttles’ journey did not begin here on the county line, though. It would take many years of hard work and artistry to lead him here, where his artistry comes to life in the form of portraits of loved ones.

After impressing the girl next door with his drawings as a child, Suttles found a mix of encouragement and doubt from his school teachers. “In elementary school, teachers noticed that I had a natural ability and encouraged that. When I was in high school, I had a teacher who wanted to expose everyone to watercolor. I had never touched watercolor in my life,” Suttles said. “She wanted to know what special classes I was taking and got upset when I said that I didn’t take any. I’ve always been a natural. I went on to college and taught my professors after class.”

Suttles would then go on to attend the University of Alabama at Huntsville before finding a job that would change the trajectory of his life. “I’m a junior at UAH, but I’m poor. I was going to work during the summer. I managed to get a job as an illustrator at NASA. They liked me so much that every time I threatened to go back to school, they’d promote me. I tell people I did that all the way until I became the Southeastern Creative Director for four Fortune 500 companies. I had 111 illustrators under me and no college degree, just ability,” Suttles said.

At the same time, Suttles found success in art shows, which would spark a multi-decade project now treasured by the artist. “When I first got out of college, I started doing art shows, and I was winning. Finally, I won Exhibition South. I told my late wife that we had to go because I won best of show. They gave me a book, and on the inside page is a thank-you letter from the director thanking these famous artists for gracing their
show. On the inside, there’s my winning picture, but there’s nothing about me,” Suttles said. “It was a stipple piece that I spent 50 years on.

“What happened was that we had different-sized pens at NASA. I took this board and did a drawing on it. I had a magnifying glass that came with the smallest pens. Over the years, they came out with smaller pens, so I continued to add dots. Last Christmas, I saw that I started it in 1973, and I took it down and finished it up. It’s worth everything to me.”

Suttles continued participating in art shows and found yet another opportunity that would build his career. “Motlow had their own art show, and I came to it. A couple weeks later, I won best of show there and met a girl who bought a painting from me. She was an illustrator at UTSI and got engaged and left town real fast. She told her boss to hire me,” Suttles said.

“I came in for an interview, and the guy handed me this book that had a drawing of a helicopter taking off in a sandstorm. I said, ‘The cover’s really nice.’ He said, ‘Oh yes, it’s real nice.’ I said, ‘It should be. I did it.’

“So I ended up in Tullahoma, built a house on Tims Ford, and lived there for 13 years. Then, his company got in trouble, and I went to Huntsville to work for another company. I was recruited to several other companies and started their graphics departments.”

Then, the unthinkable happened, and Suttles relocated back to the Tullahoma area. “I used to be a very prominent portrait artist in Huntsville. I did portraits for NASA directors, an Alabama senator, and others. I never thought I’d reach that level. Then, my wife of 40 years told me she was dying and had less than a year to live. I had to make a decision,” Suttles said. “We had bought my daughter Kate a house in Tullahoma, so my wife wanted to be near her. We were there for four years before she died. I was so devastated that I couldn’t paint anymore. Unknown to me, my late wife asked her best friend to keep an eye on me. Two years later, I married her.”

Following the loss of his wife, Suttles found painting to be nearly impossible. Still, he later found inspiration in new love and determination. “I proposed to her, and she said, ‘I’m going to say yes, but you’re going to have to make three promises. You have to help me cook the first Saturday each month at church. You’re going to have to dance in Flat Creek. And you’re an artist, so you have to start painting again.’ I didn’t know what to do because I couldn’t paint, though I’d tried,” Suttles said.

“Somebody suggested I see a man at Gateway to talk with him. He named the reasons you grieve. The last thing he said was, ‘Some people are just weak-minded.’ I got in my car and said, ‘I’m not weak-minded.’ Even though he wasn’t talking directly to me, there was a fear in the back of my head that I was weak-minded. I went home, threw a canvas up, and I painted. I knew I could do it then.”

With his revitalized passion came a new studio to work in. “My wife thought that I needed a comfortable place to paint, and my daughter suggested that I could reach a lot of people on Facebook with my work,” Suttles said. “This used to be the old water company building, and I bought it. I’m married to a battered woman, and we danced together at the Flat Creek Community Center. This place was up for auction, and now I’m here.”

As with many, the pandemic significantly impeded Suttles’ career, yet again changing the trajectory of his art. “I had a financial advisor who told me he thought I could make more off of portraits. I said, ‘When do I do that?’ He told me when I started costing money,” Suttles said. “I was offered a job working for Davidson Technologies. Then 2020 hit, and there was no work. They put me on call. I considered myself retired then, and I said that I was just going to paint pretty pictures like landscapes and still lifes. For the next year, that’s all I did.”

Now, Suttles is most concerned with the satisfaction from seeing the impact of his portraits. “I get a certain enjoyment out of seeing the reaction from people. Almost everyone who comes in here starts crying. There’s just something about a painting of somebody that just goes deep in people,” he said. “Have you ever noticed the difference between a painting and a picture? My wife found a reference picture I used for a painting and said, ‘Oh my God! Your painting is so much better than this picture.’ That’s the best compliment I’ve ever gotten.

“I’m getting emotional fulfillment out of art. I don’t want my life to not have any value. I want to leave my mark. I’m always trying to do something different and creative. You don’t get too creative in a portrait. My goal is to capture the essence of the person. I used to joke that I was a human Xerox machine, and then computers came out. I knew I was going to have to start doing graphics. I didn’t know if I was able to be creative or not, but I surprised myself,” Suttles said.

Suttles’ finished products are also an immense source of joy, as they are viewed as a culmination of intense effort and passion. “My favorite moment is when I sign a piece of artwork, and I can sit back and look at it. I don’t let anyone see a piece until it’s finished. I like doing stuff that’s different. I try not to take credit for my artistic ability. People tell me I’m wonderful, and I’ll tell them, ‘I’m just as surprised as you are!’ ” Suttles said.

“I feel blessed. I tell people I’d be asking ‘Do you want fries with that?’ if God hadn’t given me this ability. When people see my work, they have no idea how my brain is going 90 miles an hour. It’s a constant. When I go home, I’m emotionally worn out because my brain has been talking to me all day long.”

Suttles is also passionate about mentoring, which he considers one of the most valuable tools for artistic success. “The same advice I’d give today isn’t what I’d have given 30 years ago. If you’re interested in art, I would pursue avenues where you can make a living. You need to go to school or get training. It doesn’t have to be college; it can be mentoring,” he said. “If you can find someone to mentor you, do it. You can learn more from somebody one-on-one than you can out of a class for three months.”