About
Susan McDonnell is a realist painter living in Santa Barbara, California. Her paintings are narratives inspired by her observations of wild animals in their natural habitats. Albrecht Dürer and Otto Marseus van Schrieck are influences on her exacting technique while Beatrix Potter and Lewis Carroll inform the angle of her imagination.
A native of Minnesota, McDonnell’s connection to nature was formed by annual family trips to Lake Kabetogama in the North Woods. A quiet place, relatively untouched, it has continued to inspire the nuanced content and tone of her paintings.
McDonnell received her B.A and M.F.A from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. She is represented by Sullivan Goss Gallery in Santa Barbara, California and Abend Gallery in Denver, Colorado.