Susan Vorster

Susan was born in South Africa in 1970. Her family was a creative group of people; writers, watercolour artists, ballet dancers and hands-on crafty mum. Her childhood was a time frame filled with down to earth people whose natural creativity was part of everyday life.

Susan is a mostly self-taught artist, but studied Art at High School and during teacher’s training. She loved Art History and found it to be a reliable source of knowledge and skills. As a teacher, she would enthusiastically pass the knowledge on. She has always been busy making art and living it out passionately in her classroom – people learn and create better when experimenting through the eyes of a child. Children see and observe life as it is; line, colour, texture and light. They fill their art spaces with stories and ideas. Being true and honest to yourself, through trial and error, is what making art is about.
In this world, she would constantly search for the perfect composition in everyday images and (metaphorically) in everyday experiences.

Susan moved to New Zealand in 2009 and learning to love her new country, became her constant inspiration. The contrast to South Africa was striking but she could always draw similarities between the abundance of plant life – rich and colourful! Susan constantly finds herself drawn to floral paintings. Every season displays its flowers as characters in a play, dressed in bountiful colours! Layering acrylics has lately been a growing focus to portray the deepening depth and complexity of colour in petals. Experimenting with brush strokes and the use of light, assist in the search for balance and composition in the arrangements of flowers on the canvas.