Sue Quigley’s art has always been wonderfully eclectic, ranging from silver jewellery (she supplied Wellington’s The Vault store for 10 years) to a stunning World of Wearable Art-inspired costume made from bracelets. But nowadays, oil paintings are her passion. “I feel like it’s my calling in life.”

 

It was a series of unfortunate events that made her turn to painting. After a hiking accident left her with a bad leg injury, Quigley was then unexpectedly made redundant from her graphic design job. These blows put her at a low ebb, but the resulting compensation for her redundancy provided an opportunity to focus on her art.

 

Originally hailing from the state of Delaware in the USA, Quigley can now be found hibernating during wild winter days in her cosy, lamp-lit studio at Bayview in Shelly Bay, painting everything from beautiful portraits and landscapes, to the magical unicorns and fairies inspired by her young daughter.

 

Having a private studio also gives Quigley a sense of artistic freedom that can’t be found at home. “I can be messy here!”