Susan M. D. Carr

Susan developed a love of portrait painting when she was a teenager, but her journey as an artist has taken her to many rich and varied areas, including sculpture, illustration, community art, printmaking and mixed media. “I have recently developed a love for painting en plein air! I enjoy the challenge of being in the environment of the painting, capturing the scene and my relationship to it. This is much more spontaneous than painting in the studio and the paintings retain a freshness”.

Susan’s professional journey began with a BA (Hons) degree in Design/Illustration at Swindon School of Art in the 1990s, followed by two years as Artist in Residence at Hreod Parkway Secondary School in Swindon. Working with some of the pupils in the 'Exclusion Unit' Susan began to see how Art could be used as therapy, and enrolled at the University of Hertfordshire for an MA in Art Therapy. After qualifying Susan worked for 12 years as an art therapist at a hospice in Wiltshire and in 2008 returned to university, this time Loughborough, for a PhD developing an intervention called Portrait Therapy. This is used as a way to help people who experience life threatening or chronic illnesses or other trauma as a disruption to their sense of self-identity. Susan’s book about Portrait Therapy was published by Jessica Kingsley on 21st September 2017, and an exhibition of these portraits, sponsored by the Arts Council England called “Paint me this way!” was held at Swindon Museum and Art Gallery from 12 July – 10 September 2017. Susan will be applying for another grant to take this exhibition on a tour of the UK, so it look out for it at a Museum and Art Gallery near you.

Susan has had her artwork selected and hung in the Royal West of England Academy of Art open exhibitions, The Pintar Rapido Competition, The Buxton Spa Prize and, the Norfolk plein air painting competition - A Brush with the Broads. Susan continues with her painting, writing and research projects, as well as painting commission portraits and working in private practice as an art/portrait therapist.