y interest in animals came early, and like most young horse-crazy girls, I spent most of my time drawing horses. When I was 10, I took my first riding lesson at a small farm in CT. When I was 15, I received the perfect Christmas gift: the lesson horse I loved the most in the world, a Quarter Horse gelding named Paddy. Not only would this horse come to be my best friend, he proved to be an excellent teacher and partner, from tackling the elusive flying change to enjoying the thrill of competition from local to national levels. But my love for art was always there. My interest in portraiture began in high school and flourished in college when I began working for a small client base, which expanded still further in graduate school.

I received my undergraduate education from the University of Connecticut, where I received my B.F.A in Illustration. I had transferred to UConn after starting my undergraduate studies in Virginia in the pre-medicine program. I loved doing the research that was required in my science classes such as Anatomy and Physiology, but felt like something was missing. In the spring of my sophomore year, I added an art class to my schedule, and found the missing piece that finally fulfilled my interests. After the transfer, I decided to concentrate on art while taking classes in various fields of Biology. I wanted to combine my love for art and my passion for the sciences and looked into the unique field of medical illustration. I went straight to graduate school that year to Chicago, where I was a student at the University of Illinois at Chicago in the Biomedical Visualization program, one of five accredited medical illustration programs in the United States.

I spent much of my time both in and out of classes exploring traditional techniques, and later focused my class interests in veterinary illustration. An internship at the Purdue School of Veterinary Medicine allowed me to fully explore this area, as well as engage in hands-on studies in both the large and small animal specialties.

Having extensive knowledge in both human and animal anatomy, combined with my meticulous style of layering paint, my paintings have evolved to their present state of being highly detailed with a definitive attention to anatomy. Watercolor is my medium of choice, and has been for many years. The blending and refreshing color qualities lead me to enjoy pushing this medium to see how much it can lend itself to my particular style.

After working in Boston for several years providing educational materials to the pharmaceutical industry, I now live just outside Richmond, VA where I work in the medical-legal field producing courtroom exhibits for medical malpractice cases. In addition to my portrait work, I also spend time with 24 year-old Paddy, my new Rheinlander filly Bridget, and a field-hunter prospect on the farm I am now proud to call home.

The artist, Sue Simon, retains full copyright on each painting, preliminary sketches and/or any photographs taken by the artist.

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