Cultural Journey

A British upbringing, decades of living in Canada and a passion for Native art permeate every stroke

- Sue Coleman

Years back my brother introduced me at a Rotary meeting by saying, “When we were children, every Christmas I received a Meccano construction set from my grand parents and Sue received ‘Paint by Numbers.’ I carefully followed the instructions in the box, but Sue never, ever followed the numbers. By mixing the colours she changed the picture completely.” Looking back, that approach pretty well describes my general approach as an artist today.

During my school years, an art teacher told the class “a painting is not just a pretty picture. It should tell a story.” I have never forgotten those words and I credit them in part for triggering an idea I had when I was just starting out as a painter, and that was interpreting Native artwork. The little I initially learned from a Native carver during a craft show excited me. I wanted to learn more but, being non-Native, finding someone to mentor me proved to be futile. My husband, Dan, says, “If you tell Sue she can’t do something, she will figure out a way that she can.” There is an element of truth in those words, and so I set out to teach myself about Native art. My goal was to learn and help other non-Natives and visitors from foreign countries understand and appreciate the art form.