Susan McCraith is a Cotswolds-based artist working primarily in oils. After a successful international career in the wine industry as a Master of Wine, she turned her attention to painting in 2020. Largely self-taught, she has attended courses at Raw Umber Studios in Stroud and online with the Slade School of Fine Art, Sadie Valerie Atelier and others.. Susan's paintings are rooted in careful observation. She is drawn to subjects that are often overlooked – shells, feathers, fruit, flowers and quiet landscapes – believing that time spent studying them reveals a significance that is easily missed. Rather than striving to reproduce every detail, she seeks to distil each subject into a painting that captures its character, atmosphere and sense of place, inviting the viewer to slow down and look more closely. Her background in wine profoundly influences her approach to painting. Years spent evaluating balance, harmony and subtle relationships between elements have shaped the way she composes her work, where thoughtful editing and restraint are as important as description. Susan is a member of the New Bath Arts Club and the Stroud Artists' Cooperative. She was awarded the Emerging Artist Prize at the Bath Open Art Exhibition in 2023 and has exhibited with the Stroud Artists' Cooperative, New Bath Arts Club, in 44AD Artspace in Bath, Sixteen Gallery and the Gardens Gallery in Cheltenham.