Sue McDonald, Artist

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Sue McDonald, Artist

Sue McDonald, Artist

Have you always been an artist?

“I’ve been painting full time professionally since 1994, after graduating from Falmouth College of Arts, but ever since I was very small, I’ve always drawn and painted. I went to Brighton College of Art in the swinging sixties, but I did more swinging than painting I’m afraid! Then I married, had 2 children and lived abroad for many years with my teacher husband, Malcolm. On our return to Cornwall I decided to finish my degree in Fine Art, and have been busy ever since.”

What inspires you?

“This is not an easy one to answer really- you can’t always wait for inspiration to strike!

Obviously, being a land (and sea) scape painter, I am interested in light and colour and shape. I have never wanted to sit in front of a subject and copy it- I like to play with shapes and objects, rather than paint every detail. Besides, lighthouses aren’t always in the right place, so they have to be moved!

I’ve always lived by the sea, and it is probably my most important inspiration-certainly blue is my favourite colour and the one I use most of. We lived near St. Ives in Cornwall for many years, which was truly inspirational.Looking down on the town from the Penwith moors, it appears to float entirely in blues and turquoises – well, on a sunny day obviously! (We won’t mention the sea fogs!) The difficulty is to try and capture the essence of the place without being too literal.

I’m also really interested in the patterns and marks that man has made in the landscape – lines of posts and fences, plough marks, field boundaries, and rows of small cottages clustered around harbours. Harbours, particularly, are full of interest and inspiration for me- a rich source of colours, shapes and patterns. We used to do a lot of sailing, and I was usually keen to get back to our own harbour, Penzance – especially after a Force 7, when we were expecting “variable-3” !”

How would you describe your work?

“Well, I suppose this follows on from the previous question _ my pictures are always about seaside places and the edge of the sea, rather than the sea itself. I   hope I convey some of the flavour of these places as well as bringing pleasure to the viewer. I was once paid what I thought was a lovely compliment by a gentleman who had bought one of my paintings; he said he thought they were “life-affirming”. He then went on to say, much to his wife’s alarm, and my great amusement, that he’d imagined I’d be a much younger person! Dear of ‘ n, as they say in Cornwall!”

What materials do you use?

“Oh, thank goodness – an easy question!

At the moment I use acrylic paints on board, with some coloured pencil and pastels – I really love oil paints for their buttery consistency and smoothness on canvas, but acrylic has its advantages – not least that it dries quickly. You can use it straight from the tube like oils, or diluted like watercolour. If the latter, you can build up layers of colour washes that, once dry, don’t bleed into each other as some watercolours do.

I also use acrylic medium to enhance the colours and increase luminosity.”

Tell us about where you live.

“At the moment we live in France, in a small, lively village very close to the Spanish border, at the foot of the Pyrenees

First Published July 2008 By The Dart