About the Artist - Susan Gardner

I live in a small village in Leicester, UK, with my dogs - we enjoy the benefits of living right next to a beautiful woodland park in the National Forest.There is an abundance of wildlife here, which I am very keen on and enjoy seeing.

I have spent most of my working life with animals - training horses and riders to begin with, in Norfolk. Later on, I spent 20 years working with dogs. I have always had dogs, and until fairly recently, I had three horses, who were with me for almost 30 years. When I began to explore my lifelong love of art, and develop my own practise in my early 40s, it felt natural to paint the animals and birds which inspire me so much.

By chance , around that time I began to suffer a rare auto-immune condition which attacked my sight, and has left me needing ongoing treatment and with partial eyesight. Fortunately I am still able to paint, with some adaptations and I consider myself very lucky.

When I am not working, I can be found walking with the dogs, rummaging around in my small, tangled, colourful garden where I grow a LOT of sunflowers , or having coffee with friends.

Some random facts about me:

1) I'm a synaesthete, which means that I 'see' numbers, letters and words as colours. For instance, for me, Tuesday is pale blue, Saturday is red, and April is red.  

2) I have been a vegetarian since I was a child, and then became a happy vegan about ten years ago. I have always been an advocate for animals, so this is really very important in my life.

3) I'm not 100% mobile yet, following an accident in 2024 which nearly caused me to lose a leg. Once again, I have been very fortunate and I can now walk again, after a fashion.

4) I love Citroen "CV and Dyane cars, and have owned a string of them, including the bright red one, "Suzie, " who folded herself in half when I got out of her after a long drive! I'd love another one, one day!