Susan's Bio
Kenora, Ontario is my hometown. I have lived in Ingersoll, West Lorne, Toronto, Burlington, Ottawa, and Milton in Ontario. Now I live in British Columbia, but I still have a cottage on Lake of the Woods near Kenora. Being able to be alone in my canoe on that Lake nourishes me. I feel so lucky to be there surrounded by sparkling waters and fresh smells. Sometimes an eagle flies over or the loons come close with their babies, if I am quiet. It is in Kenora during a stormy summer, that I first began to draw in 2004. I was so surprised that I could create images that had some lyrical quality and resembled the horse, the car, the deer, the moose and the blue heron
I had an amazing mother-in-law, Kay Gilman, who was a watercolour artist and she taught me to look for mood and colour in paintings. But I never thought that I would ever paint. And so, once I started to draw, it took me another six months before I had the courage to pick up a watercolour brush. I started with books that I purchased and followed them page by page. Then I joined a painting group in the basement of the church where we were living in Milton (thanks to the friend who encouraged me - she knows who she is!) With others around, I started to learn more and more. My first paintings were on tiny sheets - 1/8 of a sheet and I tried to do one a day. Eventually I graduated to quarter sheets. I took workshops from some of the best around: Ken MacFarlane, Donnah Cameron, Jack Reid, Linda Kempe. I went on a week of painting with Donnah Cameron to her home in Prince Edward County and for the first time experienced "en plein air" in the Belleville/Picton area.
Another passion is exploring my ancestry. There is some evidence of that on this website with my great grandfather, a Victorian photographer. But I was excited to find out that I had a another talented and artistic relative, deceased in London in 1975, who was a distinguished painter of note - Leon Underwood. His works are in the Tate, the Victoria and Albert in London and in other galleries about the UK. At the Tate in London in 2012, I was able to see several of his sculptures and a huge oil that I will never forget of an old woman entitled "The Ember".
In 2013, we moved West to be closer to our sons and the grandchildren. I was so lucky to find a spot on the membership of the North Shore Artists Guild. The experience led me through many active positions, including becoming President in 2019. Thanks to support from my peers, I began to paint with Acrylics, but have held onto Watercolour. Each week, I paint with friends; for many years at Ambleside in West Vancouver, and now, in my new home in Victoria at Cedar Hill Arts Centre. I am happy to have joined the Saanich Peninsula Arts and Crafts Society, www.spacsociety.com, based in Sidney, on Vancouver Island.
There are so many opportunities here. I have taken workshops with Brian Atyeo, Frank Townsley, Mike Svob, Andrew McDermott, Richard McDiarmid, Alan Wiley, Liz Wiltzen, Gaye Adams, Linda Bell, Janice Robertson, Brent Lynch, Susie Cipolla, Jeanne Krabbendam, Maria Josenhans and, watercolourists Jean Haines from England, Pablo Ruben from Spain, and our own beloved, David McEown. More recently, during COVID, I participated in a workshop in abstracts with Marlene Lowden, another with Marie Josenhans and, yet another with the amazing Charlie Easton. The West Coast is the most glorious place in the world. I am so lucky - great friends and outstanding surroundings.
Above is a somewhat recent photo of me. It was taken beside "Serenity" at Park and Tilford, Under the Arbor Art Show, August 23, 2015. "Serenity" is somewhere within Lions Gate Hospital as a donation to the wonderful Art program there, headed by my NSAG colleague and friend, Edith Warner. What an honour!
For further information, please contact me at thomas.susan49@gmail.com
Susan Elaine Thomas
I had an amazing mother-in-law, Kay Gilman, who was a watercolour artist and she taught me to look for mood and colour in paintings. But I never thought that I would ever paint. And so, once I started to draw, it took me another six months before I had the courage to pick up a watercolour brush. I started with books that I purchased and followed them page by page. Then I joined a painting group in the basement of the church where we were living in Milton (thanks to the friend who encouraged me - she knows who she is!) With others around, I started to learn more and more. My first paintings were on tiny sheets - 1/8 of a sheet and I tried to do one a day. Eventually I graduated to quarter sheets. I took workshops from some of the best around: Ken MacFarlane, Donnah Cameron, Jack Reid, Linda Kempe. I went on a week of painting with Donnah Cameron to her home in Prince Edward County and for the first time experienced "en plein air" in the Belleville/Picton area.
Another passion is exploring my ancestry. There is some evidence of that on this website with my great grandfather, a Victorian photographer. But I was excited to find out that I had a another talented and artistic relative, deceased in London in 1975, who was a distinguished painter of note - Leon Underwood. His works are in the Tate, the Victoria and Albert in London and in other galleries about the UK. At the Tate in London in 2012, I was able to see several of his sculptures and a huge oil that I will never forget of an old woman entitled "The Ember".
In 2013, we moved West to be closer to our sons and the grandchildren. I was so lucky to find a spot on the membership of the North Shore Artists Guild. The experience led me through many active positions, including becoming President in 2019. Thanks to support from my peers, I began to paint with Acrylics, but have held onto Watercolour. Each week, I paint with friends; for many years at Ambleside in West Vancouver, and now, in my new home in Victoria at Cedar Hill Arts Centre. I am happy to have joined the Saanich Peninsula Arts and Crafts Society, www.spacsociety.com, based in Sidney, on Vancouver Island.
There are so many opportunities here. I have taken workshops with Brian Atyeo, Frank Townsley, Mike Svob, Andrew McDermott, Richard McDiarmid, Alan Wiley, Liz Wiltzen, Gaye Adams, Linda Bell, Janice Robertson, Brent Lynch, Susie Cipolla, Jeanne Krabbendam, Maria Josenhans and, watercolourists Jean Haines from England, Pablo Ruben from Spain, and our own beloved, David McEown. More recently, during COVID, I participated in a workshop in abstracts with Marlene Lowden, another with Marie Josenhans and, yet another with the amazing Charlie Easton. The West Coast is the most glorious place in the world. I am so lucky - great friends and outstanding surroundings.
Above is a somewhat recent photo of me. It was taken beside "Serenity" at Park and Tilford, Under the Arbor Art Show, August 23, 2015. "Serenity" is somewhere within Lions Gate Hospital as a donation to the wonderful Art program there, headed by my NSAG colleague and friend, Edith Warner. What an honour!
For further information, please contact me at thomas.susan49@gmail.com
Susan Elaine Thomas
A Sparkling Snowy Day -
painted with Jack Reid, Toronto
painted with Jack Reid, Toronto
The French Coast -
painted with Donnah Cameron
painted with Donnah Cameron
Negative Painting with Linda Kempe
Events
Saanich Peninsula Spring Art Sale - April 23 - 24th and Apr 25-May 15, 2022 (now online at store.spacsociety.com)
NSArtists Virtual Spring Show - Apr 25 - May 16, 2021
NSArtists Love Show - February 2021
NSArtists Virtual Winter Sale - November 2020
Hollyburn Eye Clinic, personal show - Sept/Oct 2020
NSArtists Artfully Abstract Show - August 2020
NSArtists Virtual Summer Show - June 27 - July 31, 2020
NSArtists Virtual Spring Show - May 2 - June 13, 2020
Winter Art Show, NSAG, November 16, Memorial CC, North Vancouver, 2019
Hycroft, Vancouver University Women's Club, PFAG, October 2019
Ron Andrews CC, Wild Babies, September/October, 2019
Park and Tilford, Under the Arbour, August 2019
Juried Group Show, Harmony Arts, West Vancouver, August 2019
Park and Tilford 50th Anniversary Celebration, North Vancouver, June 9, 2019
Spring Art Show, NSAG, West Vancouver, April 2019
Art Rental Program, Juried, North Van Arts, North Vancouver, November 2018 - 2019
Winter Art Show, The Pipeshop, North Vancouver, November 2018
Brushstrokes Gallery, NSAG, Lonsdale Quay, Suite 210 - August 2018 - July 2019
Art Under the Arbor, Park and Tilford Gardens, August 2018
Juried Group Show, Harmony Arts, West Vancouver, August 2018
Spring Art Show, NSAG, April 2018
Ron Andrews CC, North Vancouver, EARTH MATTERS, October 22 - Dec 3, 2017
Brushstrokes Gallery, Lonsdale Quay, July - December, 2017
Park and Tilford, Under the Arbour Show, August 2017
The Spring Art Show, NSAG, April 2017
The North Shore Art Crawl, Starbucks in Dundarave, March 2017
The AFAS, NSAG, Pipe Shop - November 1916
Park and Tilford, Under the Arbour, August 2016
The Spring Art Show, NSAG, West Vancouver, April 2016
The North Shore Art Crawl, March 5 & 6, 2016 - 955-20th St West Van for me!
Brushstrokes NSAG Art Gallery at Lonsdale Quay, January, February, March, April, 2016
The Annual Fine Art Show, NSAG, North Vancouver, December 2015
The Tuesday Painters Pop Up Show - August 30, 2015 - Lawson Creek Studios, West Vancouver
Park and Tilford Under the Arbor, 2015, North Vancouver, August 22/23 2015
Painters' Landing, Ambleside, West Vancouver, July 2015
The Capilano Mall, May is Art Month, May, 2015
The Spring Show, NSAG, West Vancouver Community Centre, May 2015
The Spring Crawl, NVAC, Highland United Church, March 2015
Foster an Elephant, Ron Andrews Solo Exhibit, Jan - Feb, 2015
The Annual Fine Art Show, NSAG, North Vancouver, December 2014
The Anonymous Art Show - NVAC, North Vancouver, November 2014
Pumpkin Fest, West Vancouver, October 2014
Painting on Lonsdale Quay, Summers of 2014, 2015
Park and Tilford Under the Arbor, 2014, North Vancouver, August 16/17, 2014
The Spring Show, NSAG, May 2014
Brushstrokes, Lonsdale Quay, 2014
Solo Exhibit - Jenny's Coffee Shop, Toronto, January - April, 2013
Art at RTO, The Old Mill, Toronto, April 2013
NSArtists Virtual Spring Show - Apr 25 - May 16, 2021
NSArtists Love Show - February 2021
NSArtists Virtual Winter Sale - November 2020
Hollyburn Eye Clinic, personal show - Sept/Oct 2020
NSArtists Artfully Abstract Show - August 2020
NSArtists Virtual Summer Show - June 27 - July 31, 2020
NSArtists Virtual Spring Show - May 2 - June 13, 2020
Winter Art Show, NSAG, November 16, Memorial CC, North Vancouver, 2019
Hycroft, Vancouver University Women's Club, PFAG, October 2019
Ron Andrews CC, Wild Babies, September/October, 2019
Park and Tilford, Under the Arbour, August 2019
Juried Group Show, Harmony Arts, West Vancouver, August 2019
Park and Tilford 50th Anniversary Celebration, North Vancouver, June 9, 2019
Spring Art Show, NSAG, West Vancouver, April 2019
Art Rental Program, Juried, North Van Arts, North Vancouver, November 2018 - 2019
Winter Art Show, The Pipeshop, North Vancouver, November 2018
Brushstrokes Gallery, NSAG, Lonsdale Quay, Suite 210 - August 2018 - July 2019
Art Under the Arbor, Park and Tilford Gardens, August 2018
Juried Group Show, Harmony Arts, West Vancouver, August 2018
Spring Art Show, NSAG, April 2018
Ron Andrews CC, North Vancouver, EARTH MATTERS, October 22 - Dec 3, 2017
Brushstrokes Gallery, Lonsdale Quay, July - December, 2017
Park and Tilford, Under the Arbour Show, August 2017
The Spring Art Show, NSAG, April 2017
The North Shore Art Crawl, Starbucks in Dundarave, March 2017
The AFAS, NSAG, Pipe Shop - November 1916
Park and Tilford, Under the Arbour, August 2016
The Spring Art Show, NSAG, West Vancouver, April 2016
The North Shore Art Crawl, March 5 & 6, 2016 - 955-20th St West Van for me!
Brushstrokes NSAG Art Gallery at Lonsdale Quay, January, February, March, April, 2016
The Annual Fine Art Show, NSAG, North Vancouver, December 2015
The Tuesday Painters Pop Up Show - August 30, 2015 - Lawson Creek Studios, West Vancouver
Park and Tilford Under the Arbor, 2015, North Vancouver, August 22/23 2015
Painters' Landing, Ambleside, West Vancouver, July 2015
The Capilano Mall, May is Art Month, May, 2015
The Spring Show, NSAG, West Vancouver Community Centre, May 2015
The Spring Crawl, NVAC, Highland United Church, March 2015
Foster an Elephant, Ron Andrews Solo Exhibit, Jan - Feb, 2015
The Annual Fine Art Show, NSAG, North Vancouver, December 2014
The Anonymous Art Show - NVAC, North Vancouver, November 2014
Pumpkin Fest, West Vancouver, October 2014
Painting on Lonsdale Quay, Summers of 2014, 2015
Park and Tilford Under the Arbor, 2014, North Vancouver, August 16/17, 2014
The Spring Show, NSAG, May 2014
Brushstrokes, Lonsdale Quay, 2014
Solo Exhibit - Jenny's Coffee Shop, Toronto, January - April, 2013
Art at RTO, The Old Mill, Toronto, April 2013
