Sue Mackay is a Canadian abstract artist, living and working in Toronto, Ontario. She is currently completing her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Ontario College of Art and Design University. Sue is a process driven painter, and is playing with the layering colour and texture to evoke a sense of feeling and emotion. Her compositions feel both expansive and intimate, where the tension between what is revealed and what is hidden invites the viewer to linger and explore.

Sue is a member of the Board of Directors at the Artists’ Network in Toronto. She is a member of the Partial Gallery in Toronto, and shows her work in art fairs across Ontario. Her work can be found in private collections throughout Canada and the United States. When not painting, Sue sits on the marketing advisory boards for two charitable organisations, Campfire Circle, and MooreKids Canada. She is also a past Mentor/Faculty at the Emergence Lab at the Banff Media Centre.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

My current work is a series of large abstract paintings in acrylic on different substrates, focusing on evoking emotion through layered color and texture. These works invite viewers to immerse themselves in the interplay of depth and light, and engage in a personal and sensory exploration. As part of my creative process, I continue to push myself to seek out and explore new materials. I am interested in working with the surface and investigating the interplay of new materials and paint. As the process unfolds, I allowed the materials and the interactions between layers to guide me to the final outcome. I go back and forth sometimes leading the process and sometimes letting the materials lead. This approach is a conversation of addition and subtraction, layering and removing. I built up layers of colour where each layer interacted with the next to create a sense of light and depth. The final result is a composition that is both direct and controlled, and invites the viewer to linger and explore.