Susan Cartledge

Susan was born in 1961 and raised in Tennessee. Having developed an interest in drawing as a child and teen, she continued drawing and watercolor as an adult. After many years of a nursing career, Susan was connected with figurative and portrait artist, Alia El Bermani of Alia Fine Art Studios (AFAS) in Raleigh, North Carolina and was more formally taught the methods of oil portraiture. Alia’s studio also allowed her to attend professional workshops with artists such as Angela Cunningham, Mario Robinson, and Christopher Gallego.

Susan started Paintberry Studio as a way of contributing to the arts community and sharing her work with a wider audience. She finds joy in capturing the special inherent dignity of each person, the personality of each animal, or the essential beauty of nature or still life scenes that she paints.

“My paintings are largely a compassionate and intuitive response to what I see at the moment. Sometimes, it may be a feeling I have from a twinkle of an eye to the curve of a lip or posture of a shoulder. Other times I may observe a specific color of shadow or light. Overall, I try to capture the honesty of what I am seeing. “

Susan gladly accepts commissions for portraits of either people or pets. In her own work, she finds special fulfillment in creating paintings that portray the everyday lives of women at work, whether close to home or observed in her travels. Susan has worked for 30 years as a nurse, caring for her patients with the same detailed concern that goes into her paintings. She and her husband, Tony, parent 4 adult sons and enjoy traveling, hiking, winemaking, and sharing good food together.