Singapore-based artist Susan Olij’s main obsession is drawing and a sense of self-discovery through experimentation. Her educational and industry background in fashion is foundational in her paintings and drawings design sensibilities. Abstraction is the root of her techniques but a large appetite for mastering watercolours over all the other media she’s using is driving the series she’s been making in the last 3 years. Watercolours of her Shin-rin yoku (Forest Therapy) experiences is born out of the pandemic isolations. Her previous works are all grounded in practical observations of natural phenomenon such as; the nature of human, the nature of culture and place, so as an artist who travels, her work evolves with the ebbs and flow of the world.

With degrees in Fashion Design and Buying from Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, an MA in Fine Arts from LaSalle College of the Arts, Susan was part of the adjunct faculty at The School of Fashion in LaSalle College of the Arts for 7 years before embarking on her 1.5 years travel to 15 countries in 2018. Now she runs short courses in travel sketching and urban watercolour paintings while continuing her own artistic practice in and out of the studio.

Her work aims to thread a balance of curiosity, human connection and to use creativity to navigate an increasingly harsh world with more ease.