Susie Lidstone

Institute of Education, London.
Frensham Heights School, Farnham.
Royal Society of Painters in Watercolour
The Arts Centre, Cranleigh.
New Ashgate Gallery, Farnham
Ash Barn Gallery, Petersfield
Thursley Exhibition
Elizabeth Gallery, London.
Cylinder Gallery, London.
Redgrave Theatre, Farnham.
Mounts and Mitres, Camberley.
The Barbican, London.
Casson Gallery, London
Hunt Gallery, Godalming.
Church Street Interiors, Farnham
Calleva Gallery, Wellington
Lizard Gallery, Farnham.
Farnham Arts Society
Allen Gallery, Alton – One Man Show.
South Farnborough Gallery, Farnborough
Royal Parade Gallery, London
Lion & Lamb Gallery, Farnham
Farnham Maltings, Surrey Open Artists Open Studio.
Farnham Art Society, Autumn Exhibition
Farnham Art Society, Spring Exhibition
Society of Botanical Artist Exhibition
Clyde & Co, Art at Work

Thursley Exhibition – Received Best Watercolour Award 1983

I gained my BA Honours Degree, in Fine Art Printmaking, at West Surrey College of Art and Design (now the University College for the Creative Arts) in 1981.

I specialised in lithographs but first became attracted to watercolours when my tutor at the college showed me some of Charles Rennie Macintosh’s watercolour work.

After leaving college I taught in Adult Education and then I went back to the West Surrey College of Art and Design to work, until 1991 when I left to start a family.

Since then I have had numerous commissions, worldwide and exhibitions throughout the U.K. I have also setup and run for six years several weekly art and craft workshops for children, including here at the Maltings and have been producing and selling greeting cards for sometime now.

I have my own business and primarily work from home in my studio from pictures of architecture, plants and flowers. I am currently producing paintings and cards of local shop fronts, having completed ‘Mulberry Silks’ and ‘Patricia Knowles’, which the owners purchased.

My work is concerned with Flowers growing naturally and the inter-relationship of plant forms in nature. Poppies, Lilies, Clematis, Anemones and Peonies figure predominately in my work, along with the close-up aspect and fine detail found in nature. The vibrant colours of flowers have always fascinated me and I find that Watercolour is the perfect medium to capture their qualities.

Currently my work has diversified substantially. I am working on a series of paintings of Local Shop Fronts. Sometime ago I was commissioned to paint a Florist Shop and the subsequent painting was reproduced as greeting cards. The result of that initial painting has been a flow of commissions.
I have also been working for a company designing art projects for an online children’s store, which has lead to further artwork design for festivals, Great Ormond street Hospital and for private companies.
I find that producing work from such different subject matter enables me to return afresh to painting natural plant forms, change is always good and it challenges you.

I admire the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, in particular his ability to capture the lyrical quality of plant forms. Paul Hogarth for his quirky take on architecture and buildings and finally Elizabeth Blackadder whose paintings filled me with delight as a child. Recently I had the pleasure of having one of my paintings displayed with hers at a London event.