About the Artist Susan Monty

Photo by Julie Huss

Artist Susan Monty is a New England native who grew up in Windham and now resides in Derry, where she works out of a studio in her home. She works in diverse media including colored pencil, pastel, and oil to capture a realistic, but artistic, likeness of her subjects. Her love of nature and animals, especially horses, is evident in her choice of subject matter, which ranges from house pets to wildlife scenery.

An avid horseback rider and horse owner for many years, Susan has the knowledge to accurately portray her favorite subject. "I consider myself primarily an equine artist. I find horses endlessly fascinating. With expressive eyes, sleek bodies, strong musculature, and fluid manes and tails, I will

never run out of things to say about them. Painting a horse is
like running my hands over its body as I work. I feel the life as I paint." She grew up the typical 'horse-crazy' girl, and along with her best friend, Leslie, lived and breathed horses. "I remember tying ropes to our bicycle handlebars and pretending they were reins." Susan finally convinced her parents to get her a horse and Scout came into her life. He would be a treasured friend for 28 years and is fondly missed and remembered. The painting "Pieces of Me" shown below is a portrait of Scout and have great sentimental value to Susan.

Susan displays her work in various local exhibits and shows.  Her paintings have also been accepted into many juried exhibits including the Sharon Arts Center Colored Pencil Society of New England 2004 Exhibit and “Out of the Box” an invitational exhibit at Southern New Hampshire University in 2006. Her painting "Dark Horse was selected as the show postcard. Four of her equine paintings have been accepted into the Equine Art Classic in 2004 and 2005, a juried exhibit held in conjunction with the Kentucky Derby. In 2007, Susan had paintings juried into the Colored Pencil Society of America’s 15th annual international art show. She has also exhibited at Red Roof Gallery in Enfield, NH. Her work has also been shown at the Good Earth Gallery and White Birch Fine Art. Susan was a featured artist in Sidelines magazine, and a member of the creation team for the mural mosaic project la Cadeau du Cheval

In 2010, Susan’s work has been accepted into the Dancing Horse Farms juried exhibit, the NJEAA juried exhibit, and the HITS-on-the-Hudson Charity Auction and Equestrian Art Exhibit, as well as winning a second place ribbon for “Eleven” at Art On the Common in Londonderry. Her colored pencil painting On Golden Pond won Best in Show at the Seacoast Artists Association’s summer 2011 show “Dog Days of Summer.” She is a member of the International Equine Artists Group, The Seacoast Artists Association, The Canine Art Guild, and the Pastel Society of New Hampshire. She is the drawing instructor for Derry Adult Education. "I love teaching adult education. I’ve met so many interesting and wonderful people. I enjoy passing on my love of art to others."

"Pieces of Me" Portrait of

Susan works closely with Pure Thoughts Horse and Foal
Rescues, New England Equine Rescues, Journey’s End Ranch Animal Sanctuary, and Live and Let Live Farm donating a portion of sales to the rescues. Her series Second Chances is a collection of paintings of horses from these rescues. Recently two of her paintings were featured as wine labels for a New England Equine Rescues fund raiser. She also designs the yearly Christmas card for Pure Thoughts Horse and Foal Rescue. This group is celebrating its 10th anniversary with the publication of a coffee table book about the rescue. Susan designed the cover painting and her Second Chance series paintings are used extensively throughout the book. Susan’s paintings are in private collections throughout the country, and her commissioned portraits are very popular.