Artist statement
Whilst exploring the possibilities of abstraction to convey an idea, my art-making is an iterative process of discovery; where colour, mark-making and shape create a visual record of memory, an impression of place, emotion or subject.
Drawing, photography, collage and collecting objects are all important ways to record my impressions and build up a visual lexicon of material to work from. I use paint, charcoal, pastel, pencil, biro and crayon which present opportunities for images to emerge, disappear and resurface again. The building up of layers, erasure and leaving traces behind or memories of older marks is key to allowing the image to form.
My passion for sailing, reading nautical charts and maps underpin aspects of my practice, as does my curiosity for places I have visited – both imagined and real. Sailing through the Messina straits, the Adriatic and the Ionian islands influenced a recent series of works Laguna and Penelope, which are inspired by these places, their history and mythologies.
Background
Born in Lancashire, Susan studied painting, sculpture and textiles in Blackpool, Manchester and Bristol, graduating with BA (Hons) in Fine Art in 1978. She gained a PG Dip Youth and Community Work and an MEd Community Education from the University of Edinburgh.
Until 2016, Susan combined her work as a visual artist with teaching and working in socially engaged, participatory arts. Primarily an abstract painter, her work is grounded in traditional observational research – drawing, photography, collecting and an issue or idea to explore.
Media mentions
Art review Duncan Macmillan, The Scotsman: SSA 123rd Annual Exhibition | "Susan Elizabeth Wilson’s Oakberries 2 is another very accomplished small gestural painting".
In terms of both scale and subject matter, there’s a huge range of work on display at the Society of Scottish Artists’ Annual Exhibition, writes Duncan Macmillan of the SSA 123rd Annual Exhibition, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh
The Society of Scottish Artists is back with what it reckons is the largest exhibition to take place in Scotland since the start of the pandemic. With 170 works on display, it is certainly a substantial show. Occupying the whole of the main floor of the RSA building, it has been hung with care and so really doesn’t look crowded. As ever, there is a huge range of work, from the very large to the very small and from the inscrutable to the straightforward……Susan Elizabeth Wilson’s Oakberries 2 is another very accomplished small gestural painting.