Sue Thompson

Biography

Southern California native, Sue Thompson, became an artist after more than 25 years in the food and beverage industry. Fulfilling a lifelong desire to create art, Sue enrolled in a local painting class sponsored by the city’s recreation department in the fall of 1997. She had never painted before. Drawing on her experiences as a food server, bartender and catering specialist, Sue decided to paint what she knows best, restaurant life in front and behind the scenes. Working from photographs, her self taught style has developed into a unique sense of color and light, Sue’s extensive background in the service world has inspired her subject matter of local bars and eateries. A full-time food server until April 2003, Sue has left her restaurant career to devote herself exclusively to living her life as a professional artist.

Having established her place in the Laguna Beach art community, Sue’s work is evolving towards singular figurative outside her familiar eatery scenes. Bold colors, playful humor and body language are the three elements in Sue’s painting that define her self taught style.

Artist Statement

“People often ask if I regret becoming a painter late in life. My realization is that it could not have begun one moment sooner…for it is the full spectrum of my life experience that surfaces in the paint.”

Art Education

Sue’s first class and only formal training was at the Recreation Department in the city of Laguna Beach. She remains primarily a self taught artist.

Awards

Since 2001, Sue has been an annual exhibitor in the Sawdust Art Festival in Laguna Beach, California. 2008 marks her first year as a juried exhibitor in the world renown Laguna Beach Festival of Arts. Her work is collected throughout the southland and has been exhibited in various shows including the Robert Mondavi Food and Wine Center of Southern California. Permanent collections of her work can be viewed at Houston’s Restaurants in New York City, New York and Corona Del Mar, California. Awards include the Sawdust Festival apparel design award for 2001 and the Laguna Beach Brush and Palette Award for 2003. In 2006, sponsored by the Montage Resort of Laguna Beach, Sue was one of 8 artists chosen to represent the city of Laguna Beach’s official holiday greeting card.