Susan’s Story

From an early age, I always had the urge to draw and paint. Whilst doing my homework I used to doodle and copy images from comics. As part of the Windrush generation, my parents were focused on their children getting a good education and a sensible job, therefore, I had to put this longing to be an artist aside and at the age of eighteen, I left home to train as a State Registered Nurse in Swindon, Wiltshire.

I qualified as an SRN in 1979 and went on to work for the NHS in Oxford. In the early eighties, my brother decided to move to London. I was glad to join him and explore the opportunities there. This move triggered the start of my art education. I attended Brixton College to study a Pre - Foundation Art course and then went on to Camberwell School of Art to Complete my Art Foundation Course and later a Postgraduate Art Therapy Diploma.

Art in Focus

Following this, I continued nursing and had two wonderful sons which put my artistic endeavours on hold for many years. Throughout my nursing career, I still felt that compulsion to be an artist. Upon the death of my mother in 2010, I decided to give up my full-time job as a nurse and attended Oxford Brookes University where I obtained a BA Hons in Fine Art.

My mother had always wanted to be a nurse but due to circumstances and family demands, she never achieved it. I did not want to look back and wish that I had never tried to be an artist. After completing my degree, I carried on nursing but also painted at home and engaged in exhibitions locally. In 2020 I took the brave step of becoming self-employed and joined Kindred Studios, London so that I could focus on my art practice and be in the company of other creative people.

Since joining the studio, I have had opportunities to exhibit and engage in projects. This has included being approached by ‘The Imperial Health Charity’ to exhibit in ‘Art in Focus’ in three of London's NHS Hospitals. Showing my work in this setting has great meaning to me as a nurse and artist as I consider these disciplines to be interconnected. In both practices, I strive to use myself as a conduit to transmit emotion and meaning. I also believe in the healing power of art.

The ‘Art in Focus’ exhibition is currently on display at Charing Cross Hospital, London.