Sue Dickins is a Chesterfield artist who works from home where she lives with her son, Ben who is 17 yrs old . He helps and supports Sue as well as attending college himself.
Sue retired from Derbyshire Police force several years ago after struggling with mental health issues; she has a bipolar condition that is now managed with the help of medication and a local Bipolar UK support group. She still has manic episodes but these c are now manageable and she admits are when her best pieces of art work are produced!
Sue decided this year to exhibit her work for the first time at West Studios Chesterfield . She has been working on a number of new figurative oil paintings that will form part of the exhibition. This is a collection of portraits that each tell a story that she aims to portray through her painting rather than words; she uses different fabrics and clothing to do this. A typical example of this is an oil painting titled Tree of Life. The model for this piece is shown with a beautiful Tree of life throw draped over her which symbolises strength and growth, something that her friend has shown in abundance over the past few years. The women who very kindly pose for her are special friends who all have a story to tell and have agreed to help and offer their support with this project that Sue wants to share by means of an exhibition. Sue strongly believes that art can bring people together and tell a story that words alone cannot do.
Several of the paintings, all completed using quality oils on stretched linen will be professionally framed by a local company ,Abi framers , Chesterfield and available to buy. Also available will be signed and numbered limited edition giclee prints that have been reproduced by an award winning company based in Germany: Whitewall photo lab. The prints are of a high quality and most are limited to a run of only 50 copies. These are presented with a 3inch off white mount ready to frame and can be ordered on the day .
Along side her new figurative collection with be a number of equestrian and wildlife paintings that have been completed during the last 4 years, subject’s that she is very passionate about.
Sue has won competitions and awards for portraits, figurative and equestrian pieces over the years. only last year she was a finalist in a nude art worldwide competition, 26 countries involved with her portrait titled Solitude. She was placed in the top 4. The Artist Lounge book , published by Amazon where this is featured will be on display at the exhibition along side the original painting.
Please come along to view these paintings and meet Sue for a friendly chat and to answer any questions you may have.
The Exhibition will take place from Monday 8th - Friday 26th August. West Studios standard opening hours are Monday - Friday from 10am until 4pm. We recommend calling ahead of your visit to make sure the exhibition is open as it may be closed at certain times due to other events taking place.