About

Born in 1978 in Tholen, the Netherlands, Suzanne has painted and drawn since childhood. At an early age she knew she wanted to be an artist (or a drifter, much to the dismay of her 6th grade teacher). When Suzanne finished high school, the art academy was the logical choice. By that time she regarded herself more as a craftsman than an Artist with capital A, so Suzanne didn’t enroll in any classical painting course. Instead, she enrolled in the illustration course at Sint Joost, Breda. She wasn’t a particularly exceptional student. One of her teachers called her illustration style ‘charmingly clumsy’. Suzanne graduated as an illustrator and worked in that field of expertise for over two decades.

It wasn’t until the summer of ’20, when Covid hit all around the world, she picked up painting again. At first it was just a fun way to pass the time during lockdown. Soon Suzanne noticed she has a talent for painting the human figure and she found much more joy in telling her own story through her paintings, then to illustrate someone else’s story.

Spring ’22 Suzanne finished two masterclasses and she developed her own, refined style of paining. In the same year Suzanne entered three paintings in an exhibition ‘The Weekend of the Portrait’ and got through with two of them, which were on display in Amsterdam. 

After that, she made it to the finals in The New Vermeer, a Dutch tv program, became a finalist in Modportrait 2022, a prestigieus Spanish contest and was nominated with yet another painting for the Dutch Portrait Award 2023. 

‘Painting the human figure, with all it’s emotions, is a very personal and delicate journey. One can convey happiness and serenity in a portrait. Or pride in ones accomplishments. It’s never ‘just a face’. It’s a story that I want to tell about the person being painted. That in itself is a beautiful exploration to translate on canvas. 

Most of all I love to portrait adolescents. They have a vulnerability amongst them, an endearment that moves me. They still have to figure out who they want to be. Our influence as parents lingers and that of their peers is much more present. They fight. With us, with themselves, with the world. It is a raw emotion which I long to capture in my paintings. It is a theme that comes back in my free work regularly.’

Exhibits

8 juni – 2 september 2023: Nederlandse Portretprijs, Slot Zeist, nominated

1 juli – 30 september 2023: Finalist Modportrait 2022, MEAM Barcelona

26 februari 2023: Finale Vrije Categorie – De Nieuwe Vermeer – omroep Max

21-23 oktober 2022: Weekend van het Portret / De Nederlandse Portretprijs

Education and courses