Sue Coleman (born March 1947) is a Wildlife painter from

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

who moved to

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...

, in Canada in 1967. Coleman is known for her

watercolour painting Watercolor (American English) or watercolour ( Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting method"Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to the ...

s in which she uses a controversial style mimicking the styles and motifs of Indigenous art. She also paints west-coast scenes, wildlife, and landscapes. Coleman has written and illustrated seven books.

Career

In 1967, Coleman moved from England to Canada and began to study the art of

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

artists in the 1980s. She has called what she does as a "translation" of Indigenous Canadian art. She then began to make art that mimicked the style and motifs of Northwest Coast Indigenous art blended with her own representational style because as she has said, "I knew I had something of a marketable value." She does not feel that she is actually copying or reproducing any Indigenous artists' specific works, but rather she has stated that her work "adapts and blends a number of Indigenous styles from B.C. to create her own original style."

Controversy

Coleman's style is often referred to as a cultural appropriation of Indigenous art work. Some people were confused, and mistakenly believed that her paintings were done by an Indigenous artist. Although Coleman considered this a compliment to her skill as an artist, she always claimed to be an English emigrant. Her work has been referred to by both Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists as

cultural appropriation Cultural appropriation is the adoption of an element or elements of one culture or cultural identity, identity by members of another culture or identity in a manner perceived as inappropriate or unacknowledged. Such a controversy typically ari ...

s or knockoffs of Indigenous artwork, according to reports by the

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

. Coleman once described herself as a "translator" of Indigenous art forms which drew criticism. The Kwakwak'awakw/Salish artist Carey Newman has stated, "We do not need you or anyone else to 'translate' our art form." Newman's father also discouraged her from using Indigenous traditional imagery in her work, and according to the CBC, "He told her the practice of non-Indigenous people copying and selling Indigenous-style artwork was immoral." Prominent Indigenous artists Richard Hunt, George Littlechild,

Roy Henry Vickers Roy Henry Vickers, (born June 1946 in Laxgalts'ap (formerly known as Greenville), British Columbia) is a Grammy Award nominated Canadian First Nations artist. He owns and operates a gallery in Tofino, British Columbia. Biography Vickers was b ...

among over 100 others, signed an open letter critical of Coleman's appropriation of Indigenous art. Over the years Coleman's art style has changed. During a 2017 interview with the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...

, Coleman said she is beginning to do art in a completely different style.

Awards

"Silver Teal Award" (1994). Presented by Ducks Unlimited in British Columbia

Books

* ''An Artist’s Vision'' (1989) By Sue Coleman *''Artist at Large in the Queen Charlotte Islands'' (1992) By Sue Coleman *''Artist at Large along the South Coast of Alaska'' (1993) By Sue Coleman *"Biggle Foo meets Stinky" (1997) By Sue Coleman *''Biggle Foo Becomes a Legend'' (1997) By Sue Coleman *''Return of the Raven'' (2013) By Sue Coleman *''The Trumpeter Swan'' (2015) By Sue Coleman

Personal

Coleman is from Colchester, Essex England. In 1967, she married Canadian Dan Coleman (whom she met in high school while Dan lived with his mother in Colchester), and she lives in

Cowichan Bay Cowichan Bay () is a bay and community located on the east coast of southern Vancouver Island near Duncan, in British Columbia, Canada. The mouth of the Cowichan River is near Cowichan Bay. Mount Tzouhalem with its hiking trails and ecologica ...

. Coleman was trained as a

pastry chef A pastry chef or pâtissier (; feminine pâtissière, ) is a station chef in a professional kitchen, skilled in the making of pastries, desserts, breads and other baked goods. They are employed in large hotels, bistros, restaurants, bakeries, b ...

but began painting in the 1980s. Coleman works to promote environmental conservation.

External links

Sue Coleman

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coleman, Sue 1947 births Living people 20th-century English painters 20th-century English women artists 20th-century Canadian painters 20th-century Canadian women artists Artists from British Columbia English emigrants to Canada