Max

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Digital Charcoal portrait of max

I was contacted by John, whose first year wedding anniversary (‘paper’) was coming up. His idea was to give his wife a portrait of their beloved dog, Max.

Max had, very sadly, died a week before their wedding the previous year, and his absence was greatly felt. Not least because of the powerful association Max had with their son, who had also passed away.

We decided on a monochrome, digital charcoal medium. When finished, the portrait was printed on archival art paper and framed.

Whilst drawing Max, I lost myself in the quiet contemplation of his beautiful face, illuminated by seaside sunshine, animated by the dancing light reflected in the water around him. The powerful symbolism of the sea enfolding him. On the horizon I added two sailing boats, with the ‘somewhere beyond the sea’ associations of loved ones lost.

When Kate, John’s wife, received the portrait, she said the following:

“Words can’t really describe how wonderful Max’s portrait is, but I’ll have a go. I’ll admit that there were a number of tears shed when his portrait was given to me. Max was a soul dog and the best friend we could have possibly asked for. As a hugely loyal companion especially to our eldest son and I, he was an incredible comfort after the loss of our eldest son. Somehow our wonderful Labrador just knew how to hold space for us all. Consequently when Max passed away in 2021 it hit hard. Susie has beautifully captured Max in his portrait, so much so that he embodies the same soulful presence that he did in life. I take genuine comfort from his portrait everyday and really cannot thank her enough. Thank you Susie”
— Kate

Experiences like this touch on something beyond a simple exchange of words, they go right into the very heart of us and open up dialogues full of meaning, healing and growth. 

 
 

Kovu

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Kovu, digital painting

I worked closely with Amy, Kovu’s owner, to get to the heart of his story, exploring his character and passions as well as the special points of reference in Amy and Kovu’s relationship. His portrait was a celebration of all these things.

The reference image we decided upon, with his lion-like locks, was the perfect nod to the origins of his name, inspired by the character from Lion king 2. The mini tennis ball and paddle board hanging from his collar also paid tribute to two of his favourite pastimes.

The beaded collar, a special gift from Amy’s father in Kenya, and usually hidden by Kovu’s fur, was placed centre stage as an imagined addition to the strap of his body harness. Finally, the date 22.11.20 was added to the disc at his collar to commemorate the day Kovu joined his family.

Watch the video below to see the story of this painting unfold.

“Susie is brilliant to work with and I would highly recommend her to anyone thinking about investing in a pet portrait. She produced an amazing portrait of my dog which completely blew me away. Please do choose her if you want a unique pic of your furry friend!”
— Amy Shaw

Cash

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Cash, oil on canvas, 50 × 50 cm

Commissions have a way of creating special dialogues that grow and evolve over time. This one was a case in point. It began with an email, then a zoom call with George who was looking for an artist to commemorate his beloved dog Jack who had recently died. The portrait was also intended as a gift for his partner Tom who was very close with Jack. See Jack's story for more on this.

A few months later George announced they had adopted a new dog called Cash who was now a much loved member of the family. They commissioned this portrait to mark the occasion.

In our discussion we took a deep dive into Cash's character and passions: young and playful, agile and energetic, with a love of sand, oceans and the colour orange.

This all came together in the portrait, with Cash poised ready for action on top of a suspended surfboard, the beach and sea behind him. I adapted elements from the original source image, simplifying the background, scaling Cash up so our full focus is on him. The feature of his name and a nod to his love of mountain biking was also added on the surfboard fin.

I blocked out the early stages of the painting in acrylics for speed but then moved into oils and immersed myself in the glorious sunshine and energy of this happy scene. Next followed the varnishing and framing and finally the careful packaging up, ready for the portrait's flight to Malibu, where it now hangs in its new home.

“This painting of Cash, is next level! Susannah captured every little detail, and the layers of colour make it feel so lifelike. It’s like Cash’s playful personality and charm leap right off the canvas, and I can’t stop smiling every time I see it.”
— George
 
 

Maggie

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Maggie, Digital painting

Maggie lives next door to me and is among the first and last sounds I hear of a day as she does her evening patrol of the garden to ward off any uninvited cat or squirrel intruders.

It was therefore a pleasure to be asked to paint her portrait and really go into the detail of her story with Laura and Joe, my neighbours. We discussed a range of special references which I have included in the painting. The rotten fish was a comic reminder of a memorable episode on Ramsgate beach, where this rotten fish was found by Maggie, reburied by Laura and Joe, only to be dug up by Maggie the follow day.

Maggie is also a survivor, getting through 2 life threatening encounters with IBD. Definitely a stoic miss, in love with life, swimming, chasing balls, cats, squirrels and foxes, not to mention being a very protective big sister to Ivy, Laura and Joe’s daughter.

“We are absolutely delighted with the beautiful portrait that Susie did of our terrier Maggie. She worked so hard to incorporate all aspects of her personality and the final painting she produced really jumps out at you. As an artist, Susie is brilliant to work with. Collaborative, a good listener, full of great ideas and a fast worker. We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her to anybody.”
— Laura & Joe
 
 

Lewis

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Lewis, digital painting

Kind, gentle, dependable and loved, Lewis was a warmblood gelding who very sadly is no longer in the land of the living. It was therefore a particular honour to be approached by Michelle, his owner, to paint his portrait.

The painting evolved gradually with the layers of colour building to describe the extraordinary musculature of his face. I never met Lewis but, quietly studying him for this painting, I really felt that ‘gentle’ quality, Michelle described, in every nuance of his expression.

“Susie was commissioned to do a portrait of my horse Lewis, she has captured his majesty in the amazing detail in his eye. Lewis has now passed away and I have his portrait hung in pride of place in my kitchen as a lovely memory of him. Many guests to our home have commented on what a beautiful likeness it is to the kindest horse I’ve known.”
— Michelle Greaves
 
 

Tussock & Inca

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This commission was a wonderful opportunity to work in both oil on canvas and digital paint. I spent a very happy day in North Berwick meeting and hearing the story of Inca and Tussock, a mother and daughter spaniel duo. It was a tradition in their family to have portraits of all the dogs, and I was honoured to be the latest artist to contribute to it. William and Deborah, their owners were curious about digital painting, being more familiar with traditional mediums like oil, so they decided to go for one portrait in each. It took a good few goes to photograph them and get the right images to work from. Inca was the more compliant, being older and wiser, whilst Tussock was an excited, moving bundle of energy, but we got their in the end!

“Susannah has done portraits of our two spaniels in different mediums. “Inca” is digitally painted and “Tussock” is an oil painting. Susie has captured brilliantly the different characteristics of the two dogs. Inca is quite elderly, hairy and rather untidy and totally adorable whereas Tussock (her daughter) is much more serious and in her portrait she is gazing into the distance, ready for action. We love both the pictures and it was a great pleasure to work with Susie as she developed the portraits. Thank you, Susie, we love them!”
— Deborah Backhouse
 
 

Bertie & Banjo

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This was commissioned for a surprise Christmas present! Jeremy wanted a portrait of his sister’s beloved dogs and we decided that a double portrait was the way to go. Keeping the background very simple, the full focus was directed at bringing to life the contrasting coats and characters of each dog. The gift was a great success with his sister, and is now proudly displayed in her home.

 

Bertie & Banjo, Digital painting

 
“Bertie and Banjo are important members of my sister’s family. I was sure that a digital portrait by Susie would make an excellent Christmas present for my sister. Susie is great to work with. I didn’t need to make many suggestions, but the few that I did were always acted on. Susie produced regular updates on progress and kept to her time frame. When the portrait arrived, it was clear she had captured the different characters of Bertie and Banjo very perceptibly. The result was appreciated by my sister and the portrait was the first item to be hung in her new home. It was a pleasure to work with Susie, and anyone who would like a unique piece of art to mark a significant aspect of their lives will be very pleased with the result that Susie produces.”
— Jeremy Turner
 
 

Rollo

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Rollo, Digital painting

This portrait of Rollo, was commissioned by Ian and Ursula as a surprise for their son Harry’s birthday. Rollo joined Harry during lockdown as a puppy and the two of them are now inseparable. I had a wonderful image to work from, casting Rollo in golden sunlight, showing him in all his dashing, regal glory.

They decided on a mounted, black frame finish and a scale that would be easy to hang in Harry’s flat. The portrait was an instant hit with both Harry and Rollo!

“Susie’s portrait of Rollo perfectly captured his looks and personality. Having such a superb portrait of him always lifts my mood when he’s away from the house”
— Harry Hazeel
 
 

Treacle

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Treacle, Digital painting

Treacle’s portrait was all about capturing his wise, kind and loyal nature, although, as his owner Samantha admitted, he does also have a dash of the ‘determined and stubborn,’ mixed in. His portrait was commissioned as a gift from Samantha’s brother but I was put directly in touch with Samantha to work with her to gather these special insights.

Getting the right source image to work from was a particular challenge. Treacle’s eyes, perhaps the most expressive element of his character, was the hardest part to photograph, due to his very bushy, impressive eyebrows getting in the way! I helped Samantha snap the right shot, advising her on the angle and light, and we got there in the end!

The final painting simplified the background and fully focused on Treacle’s charismatic face and fur. The African beaded collar, which had special associations, was obscured in the original source image, so I wove it in.

“Susannah is a joy to commission and a very talented artist. She took the trouble to understand the character of my dog and brought this out in her wonderful portrait of him. She is a very kind person and her work is amazing. I am so happy with it I am commissioning her to do portraits of my other dogs. Having a portrait by Susannah is a million times better than just having photographs.”
— Samantha Gray
 
 

Boris

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Boris, digital painting

Boris was the first horse I had the pleasure to paint. He is a gentle and sensitive soul, with a peculiar fear of plastic bags (on one occasion jumped sideways onto a car to avoid one).

Described by his owner as a ‘slightly mal coordinated tank’ he has a tendency of not paying much mind to obstacles and being a little on the clumsy side.

In the portrait I wanted to capture both the amazing power of and bulk of Boris’s physical presence along with this emotional softness a balance between strength and sensitivity.

“Susie has done such an amazing job of catching the character of Boris here. He’s a gentle giant of a cob and has been the much loved heart horse of us all. He’s retired now and living his best life and it is so amazing to be see him brought to life in this way. It was the best present ever.”
— Helen Walters
 
 

Jude

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Jude, Digital painting

Jude is definitely one of the most quirky and unconventional cat portraits I’ve done. Based on a favourite image taken by Jane, her owner, showing Jude dressed in a modified woolly sock, clutching a crocheted Chewbacca. This was my first encounter with painting a sphynx cat and various reference crossed my mind, including a wise old lady and ET!

“Susannah turned my favourite photo into a fabulous piece of art. Communication throughout the commission was absolutely outstanding and I was able to see the piece develop as she worked on it. Susannah has phenomenal talent and I look forward to working with her again on future commissions”
— Jane Scott
 
 

Jed

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Jed, digital painting

In his youth Jed was a sheep dog in Scotland. Now retired, he lives in Devon with Hannah and her family; a big fan of cuddles and proud older brother to Rose, his human sister.

Hannah wanted a portrait that would celebrate Jed’s character and spirit. His pose and expression were key and we explored a number of images before settling on one that captured his wisdom and experience.

The portrait focused on his face, set against a rich burgundy red, a colour Hannah associated him with.

“Susie is incredibly talented, and has created the most beautiful and professional digital portrait of our beloved border collie, Jed. She has captured him brilliantly, and we look forward to him watching us from the wall every day! Exceptional. Can’t recommend Susie highly enough!”
— Hannah Dalton
 
 

Green Turtle

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Green Turtle, Digital painting

This painting was inspired by two events. First a wonderful photograph taken by friends of mine on a dive they did in Flynn Reef, part of the Great Barrier Reed in Australia. The second was a powerful documentary I watched called Seaspiracy, which completely threw open the door on the devastating impact that industrial fishing is having on our oceans and the wildlife within them, turtles being one of the many species affected.

Recent stats show that 500,000 sea turtles are caught each year as bycatch (unintended catch).

This fella here is a Green Turtle and on the endangered species list. Along with the dangers of fishing nets, their eggs are overharvested, adults are hunted for their parts and as a source of food, and they are gradually losing their beach nesting sites.

Painting this turtle gave me 9 hours to truly study this extraordinary animal who was anything but just green. The complex mix of colours I discovered were out of this world. And I have just learned that green turtles get their name from the greenish colour of their cartilage and fat, not their shells!

 
 

Jack

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Jack, Digital painting

George reached out to me shortly after his beloved dog Jack passed away, wanting a portrait to remember him by. We discussed Jack’s character and a range of special references that could be included in the portrait.

Jack loved chasing birds, rabbits and squirrels so I wove them into his neckerchief. He often accompanied George paddle surfing so I created a mini paddle board pendant and added it to his collar detail, along with a siren (Jack never failed to howl when one passed him by) and an apple (one of his favourite snacks).

The portrait also features Jack’s favourite bead colour and two special dates, when he came into George’s life and left it. The background colour chosen was blue, representing his love of the ocean. A portrait full of story and heart, it really emphasised the power of dialogues, working with George to creative something truly unique and meaningful to him.

“Susannah was incredible to work with, the whole process was easy and seamless, and the image of Jack our Pup exceeded our expectations. I was on a quest for over a week speaking with dozens of artists to help create a picture of our dog that had just passed, and I was lucky to stumble on Susannah’s website. I highly recommend her, and we’re looking to have her create an oil portrait.”
— George
 
 

Rupert

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Rupert, Digital painting

It was such a pleasure working with Katherine on this commission of her handsome English pointer Rupert. The rolling contours of his face and eyes were a dream to paint. Described as ‘an excitable character, led on many adventures by his nose’, this pose really tapped into that energy, with those wide and alert eyes!

“I have never commissioned a portrait before but having seen some of Susie’s other work I was really keen to have a digital portrait of my dog, Rupert. As a vet I know a lot about dogs and very little about art but Susie was able to give me all of the advice I needed regarding taking and sending photos, printing and framing.

When I saw the portrait online I could not believe how life like it was. When the printed image arrived it looked stunning. The likeness was truly remarkable!

The process of sending the images to Susie was really simple and I was totally over awed with the final product. The ability to get such an amazing portrait without having to leave the house was brilliant especially in these days of social distancing. I would definitely consider commissioning more works from Susie as presents for family or friends.”
— Katherine
 
 

Aiva

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Aiva, Digital painting

Aiva, also affectionately known as ‘McGee’ and ‘Tinker,’ is definitely not your conventional indoor-loving docile Persian cat. She is an avid explorer of the outside world with a particular penchant for human foods and will happily pinch the caramelised pineapple off your summer Mojito, as owner Ellie can testify.

Her portrait was a real study in the spectrum of colours found in white, along with her extraordinary eyes and mischievous expression! Ellie requested a pink background in the end, matching the favourite pink chair Aiva likes to sit on when indoors.

Happily Aiva approved the portrait and even tolerated a greeting card of it!

“The portrait was amazing. It’s such a true likeness to Aiva mid-meow! It’s really playful, much like my kitty’s character. I’d never commissioned an artwork before. This was a completely new experience. Susie is very warm and personable and offered so many flexible options, such as changing the background and choosing how to mount the artwork and I really appreciated the option of having the portrait posted out to me. I think what was especially lovely was seeing how the artwork progressed in a video snippet. I also loved that she used music alongside this, which matched the personality of my cat very well.”
— Ellie Patient
 
 

Burger

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This commission had a slightly different angle to previous ones. Tim approached me with the idea to commission two ‘illustrative’ digital watercolour sketches for a story he was writing. It was a true story based on the extraordinary events of how Burger and his son met. It was wonderful to explore this idea with Tim and we ended up making a greeting card of one of the sketches.

 

Burgar on the mountain, Digital watercolour

Burgar on the bus, Digital watercolour

 
“I commissioned this picture of my dog Burger and I’m delighted with the result, which I adapted for my Christmas cards. Burger was discovered living wild in the Himalayas at 5000m by my son who arranged for her to be adopted by me in Snowdonia. I like how Susie’s image of Burger captures not only her look but also the fabulously isolated scenery. Burger is well known here, for her back story and her unusual name, given to her because she stole my son’s hamburgers! Copies of this picture are proudly displayed in several local cafes and homes. I am happy to recommend Susie, she is talented, diligent and professional.”
— Tim Warren
 
 

Samwell

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Samwell, digital painting

Samwell, who alas is no longer alive, was a super cat to paint. I kept on thinking of him as a mini-Tiger, and he was an enthusiastic hunter of mice, although he also had a sweet and relaxed temperament. The play of light, and angle of this pose, gave me a lot to explore, with my focus being to really make all the colours and textures of Sam’s fur and eyes sing!

“What makes this portrait special to me is that Sam is no longer with us, so it reminds me of what a loving and silly cat he was. We were able to put it up in the room in our house that we will always associate him with, and I still look for him out of habit when I go in there.

Susie was very prompt with communication, and clear on what I should expect with regards to timings, and delivery. I am a very structured person so this is important to me. I love the image Susie has created, and I will always display it in my home.

I am a stickler for paint, I have many paintings in my home, and I am old fashioned in many respects - for example I still read books in paper format as I am not that keen on digital things where there are alternatives. I think this process has made me appreciate the energy and creativity that a digital painting takes, and that it is as much of an art form as the brush and paint method!”
— Michelle Greaves
 
 

Lambkin

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Lambkin, digital painting

I was on the look out for an Easter Lamb to paint and was fortunate enough to find this little chap, called Lampkin. Gemma, his owner, described him as a determined soul, always the first of the line at feeding time and always full of play, chasing her children around their garden. This painting was based on photo of one sunset moment in their garden, where the sun’s light heightened all the textures and colours of Lamkin’s face and coat, capturing something tender and slightly comical in his expression.

 
 

Bobby & Kenny

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Introducing Bobby, a bouncy, tri-coloured, cardigan Welsh Corgi puppy and Kenny, a ‘real life panther’ moggie.

The focus was capturing their unique personalities and physical qualities. Emma, their owner, summed Bobby up as ‘a little bit of chaos on short legs.’ A big fan of everyone and everything, including happily munching the occasional bit of cat poo! I felt the upward looking, expectant, bright eyed pose captured this energy beautifully.

Kenny on the other hand is a shrewd, calm operator. Affectionately known as ‘killer ken’ - a comical play of the famous South Park line ‘who killed Kenny.’ He takes his food very seriously and no mole, mouse or squirrel is safe when he’s about. Whilst not quick to show his soft side, in moments of need he will be there, to gently nose, cuddle and cheer. The yellow background was therefore a quiet nod to Emma description of him as ‘my little sunflower.’

“After seeing some of Susie’s previous portraits I was keen to see what she would do with my pair of cheeky fur-babies. Susie sent clear instructions for the images, such as light requirements, image quality etc and I just had to capture that right moment...easy right? Absolutely not! In all honesty the hardest part of this whole process was trying to capture a good quality photograph of one grumpy cat and one crazy camera shy puppy!

The rest really was so simple, for me at least...I was not the one commissioned to paint a black cat. Susie got to know my animals through our email conversations and I believe this knowledge is portrayed through the end result, my stunning portraits.

These portraits, beautifully presented and so detailed...the details in the eyes alone are mind boggling! The different hair textures, light reflections, all shown through these magical digital portraits that are so lifelike!

Susie carefully helped me choose the background colours for my portraits based on the animal’s character - I had mentioned at some point that Kenny was my little sunflower and so his background became a vibrant yellow, a perfect contrast to his multi-toned black fur. I just cannot wait to get these portraits on my wall where I can admire them at my leisure! I can’t thank Susie enough”
— Emma Jewitt