Susie Goodyear Art

I was a bush kid from south west Queensland.

I had School of the Air, a menagerie of farm animals and a love of drawing. Living on an isolated station meant animals were often my play mates, we simply lived too far from a school and other families. We had commercial sheep, goats and cattle, but there were always pets.
 
From here I went to boarding school in Toowoomba, Agricultural College at Longreach and various jillarooing jobs around eastern Australia.

After moving to Victoria in 2000 I began competing in 3 Sheep trials with my team of border collies, and was fortunate enough to represent Victoria and then Australia in the sport. I live on a farm in North East Victoria - still with a menagerie of animals!
It was only natural that when I started painting in 2014 that my work would draw on my lifelong association with the land, in particular the animals I have the privilege of forming respectful relationships with. I paint with a heart that was broken so young by the ravages of drought and dingoes, only to be patched up time and time again by the genuine affection and trust only animals can afford us. 

My work is not about me,  nor is it my personal expression or a statement of belief.  I am merely a bridge  between my subjects and  viewer,  painting "Moments" rather than the physical animal.  First I try to establish some type of communication with the subject - a moment of their time.  I cannot compare the rush of receiving that fleeting pureness of expression to anything! It is that moment I then attempt to carefully, soulfully wrap in brushstrokes and paint.

If I  succeed, the viewer will feel the moment and the soul subject.  If I do not -  they will merely see the physical.  At times I hear people say "I just want to pat him" or "I just want to run my fingers through those curls", and I wonder do they  think about what the animal might like them to do.....

A wide-eyed steer watching me with slightly lifted chin, the wether with an ear turned, the athletic kelpie whose eyes will tell so much,  the alertness or softness of the eye....  nuances of instinct and emotion that tell us so much and ultimately enable us to handle our livestock in a calm and respectful manner. 

I hope each "moment" I paint will give people pause for thought, and that those already familiar with sheep, cattle and working dogs can savour  it, and be carried away by it to their own happy memories of a life on the land.

My artworks are held in collections throughout Australia, The USA and UK, and has featured in the US publication The Ag Mag.  Some of my work is at Kathy Ellem Fine Art Gallery, Beechworth, Victoria

"Kiss My Arse" was a finalist in the John Villiers Outback Art Prize 2022  
"Lovelorn" won the People's Choice Award of Federation Art Prize, Corowa 2023. 
 "Stealth" was 2nd in the same award.
"Legacy" was Highly Commended at Tastes of Rutherglen Art Prize 2023 
"Legacy" won People's Choice Award, Tastes of Rutherglen Art Prize 2023
"And Don't forget to Write", finalist, John Villiers Outback Art Prize 2024
Highly Commended, "Quick give me a drink before they cancel that too"  Rutherglen Tastes of Art 2024
"Speak Rodgey, Speak!" winner of People's Choice Award, Ruthergeln Tastes of Art 2024