We are delighted to be hosting Hampshire based artist Suzanne Winn in the gallery with a stunning solo exhibition of drawings and paintings which offer a window into her lifelong love affair with nature.

The exhibition is named after the anthology “Devotions” by Mary Oliver, which draws together masterful poems rejoicing in the power of living simply and connecting with nature.

This is a celebration of the wild spaces and big skies that surround Suzanne’s home, and that more broadly symbolise our relationship with the natural world.

Suzanne shares with us insights into her creative processes and her life as an artist - so take a seat, grab a warm drink and enjoy this informal interview.

· What motivated you to become an artist?

It was actually my mother-in-law who first got me started with making art. An artist of many years, she would repeatedly encourage me to have a go at painting. Having for a long time said “I don’t think I could” I decided to give it a try – and I got hooked. Initially I began by attending a weekly art class working across a wide range of mediums, methods and subjects, and quite quickly I realised that landscape painting was what really excited me. I started to focus on that, held my first open studios in 2017 and have slowly built things up from there.

· What is your artistic background and training?

I don’t have a formal training, and I haven’t been to art college. So, in that sense, I am a self-taught artist. However, since I first started painting (14 years ago now) I have sought out artists whose work inspires me, and I have been taught by several amazing teachers. Alison Orchard was the tutor of the weekly class that I first attended, and I cannot thank her enough for her positivity, encouragement and for making it so much fun! I was a member of the School of Landscape Painting, run by Christopher Baker, for several years. I have also taken short courses with wonderful artists including Louise Balaam, Claire Wiltshire, Paul Wadsworth and Anthony Garratt. These have all helped me to review, evaluate and to move forward with my work.

· How do you approach the creative process?

The first stage of my artistic process is to go out and draw directly within the landscape. This is really important as it keeps me closely connected to the landscapes around me – and this feeling of connection really lies at the core of everything I do. I also think that it is only when you start to draw in the landscape that you really start to see it properly. I aim to capture something of how it feels to be out within the landscape at that particular moment, in terms of what I can see, feel and hear around me.

When I return to the studio, I often pin my sketches up around me, but I don’t aim to copy them when I start to paint. When I paint, I aim to work spontaneously and intuitively. I spend quite a long time preparing to paint thinking about colours, mixing paints, considering compositions – and then when I start to paint, I try to just plunge in and be brave and bold, tapping into those feelings of being within the landscape. I use big brushes and try not to be too fussy or detailed – aiming to capture the essence of a place rather than to depict it too prescriptively. I step back from time to time to review what I’m doing more objectively and analytically, before going back in to make any changes that I feel are needed.

Louise Balaam talks a lot about painting from the right side of the brain – i.e. being in “the zone” when actually painting, and then stepping into left brain mode to review and think more analytically – before re-entering the right brain state to actually paint again.

This reminds me of the Marc Chagall quote: “If I create from the heart, nearly everything works; if from the head, almost nothing.” Whilst review and evaluation has its place, I too think it’s really important to paint from the heart.

· What role does inspiration play in your work?

I feel very lucky that I live surrounded by the inspiration for my work. I live in the middle of fields, with long views and big skies. The natural world is always changing – across seasons, time of day, and indeed moment to moment. Nature offers breathtaking skies that are endlessly changing and never repeating. So, I am never short of inspiration. I feel that it’s vital to connect with what you are painting on an emotional level – you have to paint what you are passionate and care deeply about. Finding whatever that is, and then immersing yourself in it as much as possible is essential.

Set your soul free - expressive skyscapes connecting you with nature.

· What mediums do you prefer to work with, and why?

It depends on what I’m doing – and I do also switch mediums from time to time to keep me creatively on my toes. When I’m out drawing, I typically use soft pastels and charcoal as these are very portable and enable me to work quickly and directly in response to the landscape around me.

In the studio, I’ve been painting predominantly with oils for the last few years. There is something about the rich colours, and the luscious textures of them that is so visceral and instinctively appealing. My work is often about movement and energy, and I find that working with thick oils, leaving my brushstrokes visible often helps me to achieve a sense of life and vitality in my paintings.

I’m always trying new things too – I think experimentation is so important. The palette knife paintings are a recent development for me – and they have quite a different feeling I think to the gestural oils, giving an impressionistic feel with thick, impasto paint. Sometimes I also work with water-based mediums – inks and watercolours. These function so differently to the oils and give a different feeling again, with marks that could not be achieved with other mediums. In summary, I’m always exploring different mediums and techniques. I wonder what will be next?!

· Can you describe your artistic style?

I would say that I create expressive landscapes that sit in the area between figurative and abstract. I am usually drawing upon experiences of particular places – normally places that I visit regularly and know and love - but I am not seeking to depict these in detail. Rather, my aim is to focus on the feelings these experiences and places evoke. I would say that my work is as much about our broader relationship with nature than about specific places.

· Do you have any rituals or routines that help you get into a creative mindset?

I like to paint or draw every weekday if I can. I think that a certain discipline is really helpful – Picasso’s quote springs to mind - “Inspiration does exist, but it must find you working”. However, it’s not always possible to create every day – artists have to do a lot of other things outside of the studio too (e.g. website updates, emails to write, open calls to apply for, social media posts to create…) so sometimes those have to be prioritised. I’m also mindful of the idea of knowing your working rhythms and cycles and I try not to get too stressed if I can’t paint every day – although I do get cranky if I have too long between studio sessions! I definitely need my creative fix!

Sometimes I will have a particular project to work on, but at other times I try to think of what I am doing as play and experimentation – that normally leads to things developing and evolving organically. Before painting, especially with the oils, I spend quite a long time preparing colour mixes of different tones from the limited palette I have chosen. This gets me in the zone mentally ready to actually start painting.

· How do you balance personal expression and commercial viability in your art?

I think it’s really important to focus on your own passions and drivers as an artist and as such I try to paint to my own agenda, and to be true to myself as much as I can. I know that not everyone will like my work or resonate with it – but some will. I try to offer different options to make my work accessible to those who do connect with it – so different sizes and mediums, on different surfaces and at different price points. I’ve not historically produced prints of my work, but this is something I’m planning to do soon to make my work more accessible again.

· Who are your biggest artistic influences?

Like many modern landscape painters, I am influenced by both Constable and Turner – both part of the Romantic movement, for whom an emotional connection to nature was key. I much admire the work of Canadian artists Tom Thomson and Emily Carr. The contemporary artists whom I have been fortunate enough to have been taught by have all also influenced my artistic development in one way or another.

· What themes or subjects do you often explore in your artwork?

For me the core theme of my work is connection with nature. For me this theme is so important in many ways. My own wellbeing has been intimately related to the close relationship with nature that I have experienced throughout my life. I think that many people are seeking to reestablish a stronger bond with the natural world, which as a society we have been pulled further and further away from. Many of us are seeking a slower pace of life, more in tune with the rhythms of nature. As we face unprecedented challenges in terms of climate change, reestablishing our bonds with and respect of the natural world seems to me to be essential for us all. If we can notice and appreciate what the natural world offers and can do for us, perhaps we can all collectively take actions to save it – and ourselves.

· How do you know when a piece is finished?

Always a tricky question! For me, I have noticed over the years that at the point when I start to think about a painting – “I’ll just tidy this up…” – that is when I need to stop – or at least to be very careful about what I do. My work is all about expressing the emotions, energy and life within the landscape and it is very easy to kill these off by overworking. Someone once said to me that it is better for a painting to be underdone by 10% than overdone by 1% so I try to be mindful of that. I don’t always succeed of course – and I think any artist will tell you it can be very difficult to know when to stop. When I step away and then return to review work, if there is something that niggles me, I will change it. But too much “fiddling around” with paintings is always best avoided in my experience!

· How do you market and promote your artwork?

I’m always looking for new opportunities to show my work and to get it seen. This can be through ongoing methods, such as through social media, or through discrete projects. For example, I enter a few open calls each year for a variety of shows. These might be local exhibitions, through to the prestigious national art societies. I work with a couple of galleries on an ongoing basis, and I have my work in a couple of pubs locally to me. I have done several art fairs in the past and really enjoyed those – it’s always good to get out and talk to people about my work and they are always a great way to connect with other artists too. I’m lucky enough to be part of this show with Emerald Frames & Gallery, which I’m really excited about. After a few years off, I’m also going to be opening my studio for Surrey Artists’ Open Studios this summer. So, really for me it’s an ongoing process of trying to find and develop new opportunities.

· Can you share any memorable experiences related to your art?

Probably some of my favourite experiences recently have been exhibiting at the Mall Galleries in London. I’ve been there with the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours, the ING Discerning Eye exhibition, and Pastel Society. Getting into these shows is extremely difficult as the standard is always very high and there is lots of tough competition. So, I’m very proud of these achievements.

· What do you hope viewers take away from your artwork?

I love it when people connect with my work, when they feel an emotional response as I do when I am within the natural world. I am delighted if my work sparks or reaffirms someone’s joy of connecting with nature. More broadly, I hope my work can help conservation efforts to protect and preserve our wild spaces. If we can notice, love and value what we have, perhaps we can reestablish a truly symbiotic, healing relationship with our precious planet.

Suzanne is exhibiting with us from the 22nd of February 2025 and will be attending the Devotions launch party at 6-8pm on Friday 28th February.

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She will also be at the gallery on the morning of Saturday 1st March from 10-11am to chat about her artworks and would love to see you there.

The exhibition will be available to enjoy Tuesdays to Saturdays - 9 to 5, until the 22nd of March 2025.

In conversation with artist - Suzanne Winn

Decade - A celebration of friends