Suzanne D. K. Doswell was born in Washington, D.C., spent her childhood in Potomac, Maryland, and summers near the Santa Barbara, California coast with her world-traveled grandparents. Her grandfather, Arthur L. Kelley, a British born restoration artist of Marblehead, Massachusetts, taught Suzanne how to hold a brush, mix Winsor and Newton watercolors and practice designs, at a very early age. Additionally, her parents imparted a strong appreciation of the arts with frequent visits to Washington’s extensive museums, and cross-country trips exploring National Parks.

Suzanne graduated from Western College, Oxford, OH with a degree in Art Education and a K-12 teaching certificate. She worked in independent day and boarding schools as an art teacher and department chairperson, development and admissions officer in the Washington area and later in the Berkshire hills of Western Massachusetts. Subsequently, she became a recognized local, state and national advocate for individuals with brain injury. Combining her continued pursuit of art with her focus on brain injury, she developed and art program for people with brain injury and other disabilities in Pittsfield, MA that continues today while she and her husband now live in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

Schooled in a variety of mediums, Suzanne’s focus continues to change as she explores new materials and subjects. She is best known for watercolor and acrylic painting, collages, and mixed media. Most recently having returned to her early study of watercolor painting, her lifelong love of the sea and coastlines came together in her recent studies of the island of Martha’s Vineyard. Suzanne’s seascapes offer viewers the feel of barefoot beach walks and the sounds of an ever-changing shore. She draws wave action into her brushstrokes and weaves the colors of water and sky into memorable stories. Her earlier subjects depicted scenes of Pacific and Caribbean coasts, mountain landscapes, and pen and ink illustrations juxtaposed with bold experiments in design and color influenced by her travels to Mexico.

She once wrote, “If I were to analyze my art, I would tell you that I begin with an empty piece of carefully selected paper or canvas, and no clear plan. My composition evolves in the quiet hours of exploration. Hidden memories harbor images that are unleashed by cherished brushes and awakened by a palette of enticing colors. The moment of creation may emerge from a quiet walk, a magical dream or a wild storm that takes me on a journey of discovery.”

Mrs. Doswell’s works hang in the permanent collection of MossRehab in Elkins PA, and private collections in Arizona, Alabama, California, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Massachusetts, New York, Virginia, and New Zealand.