Details

First Name

Susie
Last Name

Leiper
Username

susieleiper
Website

http://www.susieleiper.com
Region

Edinburgh & The Lothians
Disciplines

Painting, Applied Arts
Themes

Abstract, Landscape, Geometric

Statement

Statement

 

As a calligrapher and painter Susie navigates between the monumental and the miniscule. After an unorthodox formal calligraphic training on Donald Jackson’s St John’s Bible, Susie was inspired to take up painting and now combines text and paint, sometimes on the same work, sometimes separately. She works with brushes, pens and quills on everything from large walls and canvases to small tablets and handmade books. Susie has a passion for mountains and Chinese art, and lives in hope that one day Western calligraphy will attain the status that calligraphy has in China.

 

Biography

Biography

Born and brought up in Glasgow, Susie has degrees from the University of St Andrews and the Courtauld Institute of Art London. From editorial beginnings at British Museum Publications and Orientations magazine in Hong Kong, Susie trained as a calligrapher and painter and now works to commission in Edinburgh. She exhibits regularly and is represented by the Open Eye Gallery Edinburgh. Her work is held in many national and international collections including the National Library of Scotland, Fitzwilliam Museum Cambridge, V&A Dundee, the British Museum and the Royal Collection. In 2018 she was the recipient of the W Gordon Smith Award for painting at OPEN 2018, joint exhibition by SSA and VAS. Her Scottish secretary hand calligraphy graces the Royal Bank of Scotland polymer banknotes.