ABOUT SUE
Sue has an intense love of Nature. Her paintings are not pictorial descriptions, the works conjure the natural world in abstract— each pushes the viewer to reassess the differing of shapes and symbolism of the landscape.
‘I see, breathe and hear the ocean from my doorstep. I find wonder in the myriad of life forms in the rock pools that dot my nearby beach but I also draw inspiration from the surrounding bushland and escarpment’.
In 2019, Sue undertook a trip to the MacDonnell Ranges in the Northern Territory, immersing herself in the tradition of plein air painting. This was, of course, in a time before a global pandemic, which has forced so many of us into isolation. It was a time when we could traverse state and international borders. The paintings that emerged from this trip have been finished in the solitude of her studio.
The parring back, scrapping and thick layering of oil on canvas reveals her process, drawing the viewer closer, encouraging contemplation through a visual examination of the painting’s intricate processes and reflect on Australia’s unique but majestic environment. The undulating East MacDonnell Ranges at times highlighted by the setting sun glows of pink and orange. Nestled in the arid soil are hummocks of spinifex, their bluish green, drought-proof leaves rolled in. Towering above them, the ghost gums appear ethereal in contrast to the majestic fire-red ranges, enveloped at midday by the pure blue sky.
Sue is currently represented by Frances Keevil & has exhibited regularly in many solo & group shows over the past 25 years. Her work has been commissioned and is held in many important collections including that of Wollongong Art Gallery, Wollongong Private Hospital, North Wollongong Institute of Technology, MG Dingle & GB Hughes Collection, Sue is well recognised for her abstract landscapes & her delicate graphite drawings, and has been selected in the Norvill Art Prize for Australian Landscape, WHAM (Women’s Abstract Art Man), Shoalhaven Arts Centre, Fishers Ghost Art Prize, Kiwi Watercolour & many more.
CV
Academic Qualifications
2002 Advance Diploma of Fine Arts –Wollongong West Institute of Technology
2000 Diploma of Fine Arts – Wollongong West Institute of Technology
Art Prizes
2023 Commended - Thirroul Seaside Arts Festival
2018 Handlers Prize – Thirroul Seaside Arts Festival
2015 Overall Art Prize – Thirroul Seaside Arts Festival
2013 Highly Commended – Thirroul Seaside Arts Festival
2008 Commended – Alvaro Painting Prize -Bowral
2006 Highly Commended – Norvill Art Prize for Australian Landscape
2006 Norvill Unpackers’ Prize awarded by Members of Murrurundi Arts Council
2004 Commended – Kiwi Watercolour Prize
2004 Commended - Thirroul Seaside Arts Festival
2002 Highly Commended Award – Mt Kembla Art Prize
2002 Peoples Choice Award – Mt Kembla Art Prize
2002 Painting Prize – Thirroul Seaside Arts Festival
Acquisitions
2021 Wollongong Art Gallery Collection
2017 Wollongong Private Hospital
2016 Wollongong Private Hospital
2014 MG Dingle & GB Huges Collection
2006 MG Dingle & GB Hughes Collection
2001 North Wollongong Institute of Technology
Associations
2013 Member of IAVA (Illawarra Association of Visual Artists Inc)
Grants
2004 NAVA Marketing grant
Solo Exhibitions
2024 ‘from one to another’ Frances Keevil at Studio W, Woolloomolloo NSW
2022 ‘memory of place’ Frances Keevil at Studio W, Woolloomolloo NSW
2020 ‘mirrored bonds’ Frances Keevil Gallery, Double Bay, Sydney NSW
2018 ‘nature’s calligraphy’ Frances Keevil Gallery, Double Bay, Sydney NSW
2017 ‘topographic terrains’ Frances Keevil Galley, Double Bay, Sydney
2016 ‘rhythmic encounters’ Hazelhurst Gallery, Gymea, Sydney
2014 ‘exhibition with a difference’ Weaver Terrace, Sandon
2011 ‘stratums of change’ Harrison Galleries, Paddington
2010 ‘refraction of light’ Sheahan Galleries, Clifton School of Arts, Clifton
2008 ‘receding & revealing’ Hazelhurst Community Gallery, Gymea, Sydney
2006 ‘subtle inflections’ Hazelhurst Community Gallery, Gymea, Sydney
Group Exhibitions
2020 ‘Landscapes’ Studio_Direct, Michael Reid Gallery, Sydney
2020 ‘On the Edge’ TAEM Gallery, University of Wollongong
2018 IAVA ‘NOW’ Exhibition - Wollongong Art Gallery
2017 ‘Out of the Illawarra’ An Exhibition of Contemporary Art – Parliament House, Sydney
2016 ‘Wham, It’s Women’s Abstract Art Man’ Jervis Bay Maritime Museum & Gallery
2016 ‘Sojourn Summer’ Beach Art Gallery- Bulli NSW
2015 ’50::50 IAVA Showcase, Catalogue Show’ - Project Contemporary Artspace - Wollongong
2015 ‘Out of the Illawarra’ An Exhibition of Contemporary Art – Parliament House, Sydney’
2015 IWD International Women’s Day Exhibition – Project Artspace - Wollongong
2014 IAVA on Paper- Hanging Space Art Gallery - Woonona
2013 IAVA Showcase Exhibition – Project Contemporary Artspace - Wollongong
2013 IWD International Women’s Day Exhibition 2013 – Project ArtSpace Wollongong
2012 “Refraction of Light’ – Alibi Art Bar – Crown Street Wollongong
2012 IWD International Women’s Day Exhibition 2012 – Gallery 5 Wollongong
2011 ‘Walk on the Wild Side’ – Harrison Galleries, Paddington
2011 ‘Stockroom Show’ – Harrison Galleries, Paddington
2010 ‘Local: Current 2010’ – Wollongong City Gallery, Wollongong
2010 ‘Surf & Sea’ Project Contemporary Artspace, Wollongong
2004 ‘Fresh Paint/Leaving Traces’ - Mary Place Gallery Paddington
2003 ‘New Work at Clifton’ Clifton School of Arts
2003 ‘Shifting Spaces’ Hazelhurst Gallery
2001 ‘Equilateral’ Project Contemporary Artspace –Wollongong
Selected Exhibitions
2024 Crossing New England, Armidale Art Gallery, Armidale NSW
2023 Packsaddle Exhibition, NERAM, Armidale NSW
2023 Thirroul Seasidde Arts Festival NSW
2021 ‘Lore’ Wollongong Art Gallery, Wollongong, NSW
2019 Thirroul Seaside Arts Festival NSW
2018 Thirroul Seaside Arts Festival NSW
2017 Thirroul Seaside Arts Festival NSW
2016 ‘Wham,It’s Women’s Abstract Art Man’ Jervis Bay Maritime Museum & Gallery
2015 ‘The Metaphysical Edge: Seeing abstraction’ – Shoalhaven Arts Centre
2013 ‘Being In the Moment’ Art & Mindfulness – Nan Tien Temple Wollongong
2012 ‘Unfolding’ Australian Artists in an Asian Century – Nan Tien Temple Wollongong
2012 Thirroul Seaside Arts Festival NSW
2011 Prometheus Art Awards – Merrimac, Queensland
2010 Norvill Art Prize for Landscape – Murrurundi NSW
2010 ‘BioDiversCity’ At the Vanishing Point - Newtown
2009 ‘Personal Journeys’ 40 Years of Australian Women’s Abstract Art – Shoalhaven Arts Centre
2008 Norvill Art Prize for Landscape - Murrurundi
2008 Alvaro Paint Prize – Berrima District Art Gallery
2008 Willoughby Art Prize
2006 Fishers Ghost Art Prize – Campbelltown Gallery
2006 Norvill Art Prize for Landscape - Murrurundi
2004 Fishers Ghost Art Prize – Campbelltown Gallery
2004 Kiwi Watercolour Art Prize –Wollongong City Gallery
2003 Fishers Ghost Art Prize – Campbelltown Gallery
