Susannah's university entry portfolio document for editorial. THE BEFORE.

Portfolio

This commissioned work is the logo of the Highland Yoga Collective, which they wanted to have painted on the wall of their yoga studio in Nairn. It is a different style (and much larger size) than my usual work, since it is made up of precise geometric shapes, with crisp lines and circles. I didn’t have a stencil, only the image of the logo to work from, which meant that this was mainly done freehand, after a preliminary outline in pencil, done using a projector to project the image on to the wall and judge the size and proportions. I used matt paint, and mixed paint glitter in to the grey for the stag.

This mural is the first one I painted, to decorate the Scottish Exotic Animal Rescue centre in Nairn. I wanted to give it depth by painting from dark green at the bottom, through shades of green becoming lighter for the distant canopy, and finally blue sky at the top. I then added layers of plants, trees and animals on top to fill the space and bring it to life. I painted it freehand without a detailed plan, replicating the way plants and trees grow one in front of another in the jungle and trying to give an impression of layers and depth. I also wanted to use the corner of the wall continuously going round to give it a 3D effect when looking straight at the corner. I love the way looking at a forest or jungle can naturally create a sense of wellbeing. As a zoologist this was also a natural opportunity for me to combine my passion for biodiversity with my love of art and colour. I love the way each time I’d add more animals and plants, the new layers of the jungle would come forward. In the end, I painted the whole room and celling of the rescue centre.

Experimenting with work in black and white, I took these photos go my niece Elva with friend and neighbour Keeva, in Tipperary, Ireland. It was quite a spontaneous moment discovering some ancient standing stones. I like the way the black and white colours give the photos a smart, crisp definition and contrast, and removes the distraction of colour, allowing the focus to be on the composition and the girls’ expressions. It also adds to the atmosphere of thoughtfulness and age as the ancient stones they are sitting on naturally contrasts with the youthfulness of the girls, a juxtaposition of ancient and youthful.

These still life studies provided a very different way of using light to do a study in 3D. Looking at the 3D objects and shadows in life is very different to doing studies from reference photos which have already put the image in to 2 dimensions. These studies were a way of observing the light and the way it affects the objects to create a 3D image. I also enjoyed the contrast of the greys and shadows with the warmer colours of the sugar bowl and fruits, bringing the “warmer” objects forward in the image and creating a more 3D effect.

This portrait of a prize winning Highland Cow heifer (acrylic paint on A3 stretched canvas) was commissioned by her owners, from a reference photo they provided (below painting). You can see in the reference photo that she has a white head collar and nose ring, which after discussion with the owners, they decided not to add to the painting. I also found that in the reference photo, the cow’s left ear (on the right of the photo) isn’t visible. After speaking to the owners, we mutually agreed that I should add the second ear in to balance the portrait, and because normally it would be visible. I particularly enjoyed blending the colours of the smooth hair to create the highlights where it comes forwards which blend very gently in to the darker shades further back. The contrast between the softness of the hair, and the polished smoothness of the horns which catch the light as they curve round, also required different effects to create the texture. The tone of the hair blends very smoothly as the highlights merge in to the darker areas, while the light hitting the polished horns creates a much sharper contrast and reflections over the curves.

I started painting stones which I found on the banks of the River Ness during lockdown. It was a completely new medium to work with and totally different size, much smaller than the A3 paintings on canvas I’m familiar with. I started painting stones as I was inspired by Japanese artist Akie Nakata (known as Akie), who creates incredibly realistic stones painted in incredible detail to become miniature animals. I love the way he used the shape of the stones so that the animals seem to come to life. Since the stones have their own 3D shape, it can bring out the shape of the animals and make them become 3D. Sometimes the stones already lend themselves to the shape of a particular animal and were not commissioned work, and some of my stones were commissioned work painting specific animals the client had requested.

I am passionate about wildlife photography, and took this photo of a cabbage white butterfly with my niece Elva in my grandmother (Nana’s) garden in Nenagh, Tipperary Ireland. The butterfly is laying her eggs on nasturtium leaves in Nana’s garden. I subsequently entered it in a World Bank competition, Voices 4 Climate, in 2013, and was awarded second prize in the Agriculture section. The significance of the photo is partly the creation by the butterfly of a new generation of pollinators, which are essential to our survival as a species.

At the same time, I was taking the photo with my niece, the next generation herself, showing her how the butterfly’s future is so significant to her own. The fact that is was taken in our Nana’s garden, so that all 3 generations were involved, shows how previous generations are so significant nurturing wildlife and allowing pollinators to thrive and create a future for present and coming generations.

Combining my love of wildlife photography with painting, I collaborated with local wildlife photographer James Roddie (www.jamesroddie.com) who allowed me to have some of his original high resolution images for use as reference photos for a series of wildlife paintings. This gave me a whole range of beautiful compositions and backgrounds in different environments to work with, and animals in incredible high resolution detail. I hope to work on my own wildlife photography and take photos of my own composition to create even more considered paintings. In the meantime, while working at the Scottish Exotic Animal Rescue in Nairn, I took a range of my own photos to do portraits of the animals there.