Newsletter #18
[10/2024]
Hi friends! & welcome to those of you who recently subscribed.
This newsletter took a bit longer than I hoped to reach you; I guess I’m still getting used to this chapter of my life, balancing the multiple commitments and still finding out how much energy I do have for myself every day - humbly accepting it’s usually much less than hoped for.
Anyway, here’s some news from the Summer, sharings from my latest solo show Landing and other insights into my practice. Hope you enjoy reading!
Landing - a first solo show in Wales
It's one of those opportunities that came through beautiful serendipity: friends were visiting and we shared some delicious homemade food in a cafe in Cardigan. As we got chatting with Becky - the lovely human at the heart of this place - she mentioned having just acquired a second space, that she'd run as a gallery, where people could share a meal or coffee surrounded by art. She asked me if I wanted to exhibit next. Yes I did! A few weeks later I was presenting my first solo exhibition in Wales, amongst the 15 paintings presented, two thirds of them were as fresh off the easel as they come and shown for the very first time.
Where: Oriel Saith, 7 Black Lion Mews SA43 1HJ Cardigan
When: Through August & September
Workshops in Cardigan & London
Alongside the joy of presenting my paintings, the highlights of my Summer have been three opportunities to share my passion through teaching.
Two drawing workshops in Cardigan, invitations to pause and connect to objects dear to our heart through the “simple” act of looking. Those two mornings were open to anyone, regardless of experience or “abilities”, as my joy is to demystify drawing or painting as a practice only available to some of us, but instead seeing it as an opportunity to pause, slow down and tune in with the present moment, to pay attention to our immediate surrounding and inner world without requiring anything else than being. As I share different entry points or prompts to engage with observation, the actual drawing is but a mere excuse (although often a beautifully pleasing one!), the process and quality of presence end up being the actual gift.
And earlier this month I got to run a three-day painting workshop at the Dulwich Art Group & School, where we came together to think about Perceptions and Senses. The first day we explored painting from Memory - with delay and repetition, seeing how language can help us retain information, observing how the details that stick with us are revealing of what actually interest us the most.
The second day we thought about view points and how to become aware of and play with where we’re painting from, who is painting, who is looking, and how our field of vision is much more complex, ever changing and intriguing than we are aware of most of the time.
On the last day we were joined by a model for some final stretches of our vision, playing with colours and tones as we forced ourselves to make very binary decisions, as to train those muscle and make committed choices, harvesting the fruits of this hard work through one final “free flow” painting.
I am sooo grateful for being given the opportunity to design a workshop that is so specific to what bring me joy when I paint, and I’m over the moon to see how much the participants trusted me with it; the heightened sense of wonder that paintings gives me prove to be contagious! I so look forward to running such workshop again in the future.
Green & Stone gallery, summer show in London (Chelsea)
August saw my "Self-portraits, currents and left behind" selected in the Green & Stone gallery’s fantastic Summer exhibition.
Self-portraiture is a crucial part of my practice, just as my hands are a fundamental part of who I am. Born with a difference (Amniotic Band Syndrome), I underwent regular surgeries from a few weeks old to my seventeenth birthday. Every other year my hands would change: I did well re-learning how to use them every time, but sadly no record was made of their successive appearances. With this particular painting, I longed to fill in the gaps for the parts of me that are gone forever. The first painting to the left is my right hand as it is now, then reversing the chronology, remembering the various stages my hand went through as we moved to the right. Marks become more blurred and abstract, as sadly memories become too faint and all I can do is imagine those past moments as I grieve their loss.
Entering this painting to an open-call exhibition was a very vulnerable decision, but I committed to it as a "favour to my brave self" who had dared to paint it in the first place. Seeing the show was a relief as I saw my self-portrait surrounded by beautiful and poignant works - and interestingly hung close to another work, 'Retreat' by sculptor Imogen Long, in which I "can see" my left hand.
New Artist Fair, London 27-29th September
My painting Daughter & Sun was selected to be shown at the New Artist Fair the last weekend of September, alongside artists Chikaora Obiora and Jack Woolley who like me trained at the Art Academy London.
This painting is so so dear to my heart and one that seem to resonate with a lot of people, which made this other opportunity for her to be seen even more special…and she found her forever home! Making my heart so full.
Doing an art fair was quite an adventure, and to be fully honest I’m not sure I’ll replicate the experience in the future; such a buzzing environment, a LOT for the eyes but also music and artificial lighting for hours on end, it all gets a bit too much for me. This being said, I’m very grateful I was given this opportunity and in painting as in life, I’m slowly getting to know what aligns with me and what is less for me, learning a bit more about myself one opportunity at a time.
Where: The Truman Brewery, Spitalfields, London E1 6QR
When: 27th - 29th Sept
Commission
We’ve only just passed the equinox and there’s still a long time to go before the end of 2024, but in term of painting calendar this period is synonym to the last commissions slots if you’ve imagined offering paintings for Xmas. Whether you already have something fairly specific in mind or would like to explore options, please do get in touch - I’d be very happy to work on a couple more projects for the upcoming months.
On this page you can find the various options I offer, alongside my price range and exemples of previous commissions.
And that’s me for now!
Slowly getting more and more at ease with existing and eternally grateful for how much my painting practice is teaching me.
I hope life is gentle with you wherever you’re at, and that you find yourself learning new things often, or simply regularly questioning them with an open heart and an amused eye.
Bisous!
Suzy xxx
Earlier this year I shared with you the financial stress I found myself under. I am so thankful for everyone who was in a position to help, it truly makes a difference to receive such direct support. Things are not as bad as a couple of months ago as I’ve started doing some care-work to insure I’d have enough to eat, but sadly making art is currently costing more than providing. I’m stubbornly ready to keep on painting no matter what, but this stress is impacting so I'm leaving this Donation option open in case it resonates, thank you.