Susan Sette
Artist Profile
Intuitive Artist - Like many people my love of art began as a child, grating chalk, mixing flour and water for glue then swishing my hands around on a piece of paper which was always so much fun. Around the age of 10 my grandmother gave me a set of Derwent Pencils for my birthday. I was so excited they were considered the best pencils in those days. I was already in love with cloud formations, sunrises and sunsets and would spend hours just mixing the colours trying to capture some of that beauty. At school we had a project in which we were to illustrate a crawling baby, unfortunately my baby looked like a cute lizard. I didn’t know I was dyslexic at that time, I laughed along with my peers and from that point decided to focus on more academic subjects. Gradually, time constraints of work, study, and life in general, the thought of art was placed away in the archives of my mind. Years later, after the children were adults, the desire of making some type of art was resurfacing, and wherever I was working I would visit galleries and art shops, collecting paints and brushes just waiting for the day I could begin to play with colour once again. When I moved to Sunbury, I decided to join the local pastel group which was at the Boiler House, and in the room next to us, were two wonderful painters, Philip Gray and Edwin Booker. During our coffee break we would talk art and they would explain what they were painting and their techniques. After many conversations I think I wore them down with questions and I was fortunate to be included in a lesson they were conducting. This is when the flame was lit and the love of colour resurfaced, and from then on, all I have wanted to do is paint, and thankfully Philip has always been available to answer any questions that may arise. Moving on, I attended workshops, classes in Woodend & Sunbury, and art retreats. I am so grateful to all the teachers, each one sharing new insights. I have exhibited in Sunbury Art Society, Hume Global Learning Centre in Sunbury, and MRAG (Macedon Ranges Art Group). Since mid-2023, I decided to get serious and began being mentored by two international teachers who have been so inspiring & encouraging as we went outside the square and dived deeper into life’s mysteries. The style of my art is intuitive, it tells a story. Each layer represents a feeling of an experience and eventually leads to an intuitive interpretation of the subject. This is only seen through the process so I take intermittent photos so it can be recorded. I love painting whatever appeals to me at the time, a dream, a magnificent sunrise or sunset, my interpretation of someone’s life be it one of the master artists, or a friend, animals, nature, cosmos or just feelings. There is so much beauty around us, the play of light and dark, tone, form and formlessness. If I can capture a little piece of this on canvas, I feel fulfilled. I am forever learning and always experimenting, looking forward to what will appear in the next painting. I would love every child/person to have the opportunity to play with colour, being dyslexic I especially would like to encourage anyone with dyslexia to give it a go, as art is healing, and painting from the inside out is always full of surprises that can change our outlook of life in general.
