Susan Penfold is a self-taught artist, having reinvigorated her interest in 2016 when she undertook her first pastel course. In 2020 she held her first solo exhibition, won the Nightcliff Seabreeze Festival Jetty art prize and was highly-commended in the Katherine Art Show. She subsequently held solo exhibitions at Darwin Visual Arts, Dom’s Bar and Songlines Gallery, and is currently exhibited at Atelier Crafers. She moved from Darwin back to Adelaide in 2022.
Her practice is primarily pastel, but has been exploring sketching, digital, acrylic and oil painting techniques. She often paints people and animals and loves capturing the languid changes in colour of reflected light in fur and feathers. She is also captivated by the fall of light on the landscapes and streetscapes of Australia. Some of her current works have sustainability and nature related themes, part of her previous work career, and this is a subject matter that she intends to continue to pursue.