We Will Survive

Prior to the last devastating bushfires, I was working on a lovely green scene from a lookout near Bundanon, NSW. After the bushfires came through, I tore up my green painting and started on this canvas. As the greenery started to return to the bush, I then used my discarded green painting to collage pieces onto the newly sprouting trees. The patterned paper used in the foreground is a piece I have had for 30 years, waiting for the right painting to use it on. To me, it represents the skin and bare bones of the earth that were exposed during the fires, revealing an internal beauty, previously hidden from us. The painting is signed on the front and back and sealed with a quality gloss varnish for ease of cleaning/dusting and protection.

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Susan is an intuitive artist, responding emotively to elements in nature and personal experiences to represent lasting visual impressions. After being involved in painting and drawing from an early age, she has recently returned to the art world in 2015 to pursue her lifelong passion for painting full time after retiring from teaching. Susan grew up on the North Coast of NSW and now lives on the South Coast of NSW in the Shoalhaven area.

Imprinted memories inspire the creation of each painting and relate to special places, people and events that have enriched her life as a wife, mother, friend and teacher to many. A variety of found and recycled mark making tools are utilised, alongside traditional brushes and palette knives, to recreate patterns in nature and manipulate images spontaneously. With an emphasis on the interplay of light, colours, shapes and lines, these are laid down in layers, using a process of washes and marks in acrylics, inks and oil pastels.

Whilst working predominately in abstract, Susan also paints impressionist and traditional portraits, landscapes and still life in oils, acrylics and mixed media.