Painter from the North West of England
I use drawing and painting to explore fleeting psychological states. I'm drawn to imagery that leans into outdated romantic tropes and aesthetics.
A lot of my ideas start with small, everyday encounters. Like the prehistoric wasps that drift through my window, lost, disoriented, unwelcome. There is an odd grace to their futile circling, a strange poignancy in their struggle. Or the wooden stools that become stages for tragicomic arrangements of objects. I'll sometimes include a phone, its eyes, a portal, angled upward, suggesting the vast, silent audience that is our constant companion.
I want the work to feel emotionally charged but ambiguous - romance, disillusionment, and beauty all coexisting with melancholia or moments of volatility. The slow, deliberate layering of pencil or oil paint and the firm edges and shadows, hold these women, insects, and objects in poses they'll perform forever. It's a kind of visual stability that mirrors the digital archive, where a fleeting moment remains frozen in time long after the feeling has dissipated. In another way, the slow, careful act of drawing and painting becomes a way of restoring a sense of presence and emotional complexity.
My background in sculpture and wardrobe departments in TV and theatre has shaped my approach to three-dimensional form and the expressive potential of clothing. Elements such as ribbons, belts or hair take on a life of their own.
For price list, please email me at studio[at]susannahpal.com
For work in progress please see my Instagram here.
Susannah in her home studio 2025
Education - BA in Fine Art at Chelsea College of Art, UAL (2009) and PGCE Teaching Qualification in Art & Design, Institute of Education, University College London (2015).
Selected exhibitions - The Summer Exhibition, The Royal Academy 2025, July 2022, The Discerning Eye, Mall Galleries 2020, Secret Charter Dulwich Picture Gallery, London, 2018. Drawing in Uncertainties Charles Roe House, 2016. Art Makes Teachers Powerful, Menier Gallery, London 2015. Hand Joy, Centre for Recent Drawing, London 2009.
Podcasts ‘Where does inspiration come from?’ Tate Modern podcast for Picasso 1932- Love, Fame and Tragedy. I was a guest speaker. 2018
Funding - Develop Your Creative Practice (DYCP) - Arts Council England. 2023
Teaching - Selected institutions and galleries I have taught drawing at include The National Gallery, The Royal College of Physicians, Dulwich Picture Gallery, Battersea Arts Centre, Central Saint Martins, St John’s Church, Shoreditch Town Hall, West Dean House, Strawberry Hill House.