Sue McLean was born in the UK and now lives in the regional city of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. Her love of the natural world has inspired her life and work. From an early age she was interested in the natural world and plant kingdom, collecting and pressing flowers, helping in her parents’ garden and spending many hours walking her dog or riding in the nearby countryside. As an adult, Sue expanded this connection with the practical use of colour through a varied career – particularly in fashion design, running her own knitwear business, gardening and more recently – botanical art.

After immigrating to Australia in 1999 Sue studied applied colour & design and visual arts at the School of Colour & design in Sydney gaining a diploma and two awards of excellence. In 2003 after a move to Geelong she joined the Geelong Art Society and started to focus on watercolour as her artistic direction.

After discovering The Botanic gardens held classes in botanic art, it dawned on Sue that watercolour and plants were the ideal combination. Over the next four years, she studied under Margaret Muffet and John Pastoriza-Piñol and participated in workshops held by other well known Australian Botanic Artists, including: Mali Moir, Jenny Phillips, Rita Parkinson and Stephani Goss.

In recent years, Sue has been fascinated by the smaller flora that grows in the Australian bush. She spends many weekends walking with her husband watching birds, learning the identity of the wildflowers, seeking out the wild terrestrial orchids, fungi and strange insects that they come across.

Sue has exhibited locally and internationally. She gained her first medal – a bronze – at the Kirstenbosch Biennale exhibition of fine botanical art. This was held in Cape Town, South Africa in September 2006 where she displayed four paintings of South African plants. She followed this with a Silver medal from the Royal Horticultural Society at their February 2007 London Exhibition, for eight paintings of native terrestrial orchids of Victoria.

Please see Exhibitions for a list of her achievements and awards.

Sue has continued her painting over the last year with another series of native orchids and a series of fungi which she will be taking to the UK for exhibition.

She is a member of The Botanical Art Society of Australia, Geelong Botanic Artist group, Australasian Native Orchid Society and is a Friend of the Melbourne and Geelong Botanic gardens.