SUSAN JAMES DEAN

19th - 20th Oct | 2nd - 3rd Nov | 23rd - 24th Nov

OPEN 10 - 4

Susan’s art practice is varied in both subject and style, but landscape and figure drawing form a strong part of her exhibited and commissioned work. The ever-changing nature of the landscape is a source of inspiration for many of Susan’s paintings. Working outdoors as much as possible, she uses sketchbooks to rapidly capture a sense of atmosphere and space. In the studio, collage, paint and graphite combine to create layers of texture and colour that can hold meaning and expression.

Susan’s background is in art education; she was Head of Art at a school in Hertfordshire for many years, as well as a visiting artist in schools. She is currently the Artist-in-residence at a secondary school in St Albans. She says of her work, “I am very interested in drawing as a powerful means of communication and I find excitement and reward in working with different media across many subject areas. Overall, I seek an expressive and spontaneous response in my artwork that can be enjoyed and shared.”

The spontaneity that is achieved in Susan’s artwork is underpinned by many years of drawing, exploring the relationship between mark and surface, form and space… sometimes employing a strong weight of line and mark to create structure and volume, at other times her work is spatially ambiguous with environment and subject drawn together to form abstract shape and colour.