'Trees of Life' Exhibition

Herb Paris, Small Spider and Unidentified Fly

Susan Neale

Dates: 3 - 17 November 2023, 10am – 4pm

Venue: The Barn Gallery, St John’s College, Oxford, OX1 3JP

Renowned artist Susan Neale invites you to embark on a visual journey through the enchanting world of nature with her upcoming exhibition, Trees of Life. This showcase, presented in collaboration with the Wytham Woods Team at the University of Oxford, will grace The Barn at St John’s College from 3 – 17 November 2023.

Susan Neale’s passion and inspiration is the natural world: the challenge of creating on paper and in paint the beauty and complexity of both flora and fauna. She strives to encourage the viewer to appreciate the sheer interconnectedness and coexistence of different species, something that can be effectively illustrated in a woodland setting such as Wytham Woods. Awe, wonder and knowledge are the tools that can help people appreciate the living world and therefore support the excellent work and research produced at Wytham. The visual image can be a small part of that endeavour, with the exhibition artwork demonstrating different habitats and the species dependent on them.

Susan Neale is a professional artist and tutor with a degree in Illustration. Her early career was spent as a commercial artist in both publishing and advertising. She took a PGCE in the late 1990s and began teaching painting part time. This enabled her to spend more time painting for commissions, for herself and to exhibit her work. She has exhibited and sold with the NEAC and the Royal Institute of Painters on Watercolour at the The MALL Galleries London. Susan has also performed three painting demonstrations for Wytham Woods in 2022-23, and completed a commission of woodland plant Herb paris.

Nigel Fisher, Conservator, and Lucy Kilbey, Marketing & Engagement Officer from Wytham Woods at the University of Oxford, jointly express their excitement for this collaboration. They hope that the Trees of Life exhibition will attract new audiences to Wytham Woods, nurturing a heightened understanding of the vital role that diverse habitats play in preserving our planet's rich biodiversity.

Join us in celebrating the wonders of the natural world through the artistic lens of Susan Neale. For more information about the artist and her exquisite creations, please visit Susan Neale's online portfolio.