Suzanne Nielsen jumps her
horse, Sir Ivanhoe (Ivy)

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Welcome to the Art Equine web site.

Artist and equestrian Suzanne Nielsen was born in Pasadena, California, where her love of art and animals was shaped by parents who imbued her childhood with art and animals. She started taking both riding and painting lessons when she was five, and over the next decade she dedicated herself to fusing these two passions.

At a very early age her love of horses and art were enabled and supported by her parents with the gift of her first pony, frequent trips to museums, trekking across the entire United Kingdom and even through streets of Florence and Rome in Italy. Many horses later, she has become an accomplished rider and trainer, working in both the Hunter/Jumper and Dressage arenas.

During High School, Ms. Nielsen studied at the Art Center College of Design, in Pasadena CA . She earned her degree in fine art from California Polytechnic University in Pomona, where she studied both equine sciences and management and fine art. She has also benefited immensely from her studies with such master artists as Glenn Vilppu and Sheldon Borenstein.

After college she worked in the animation industry where she studied the anatomy of humans and animals as well as character development, movement, and story. Her study of animation provided the framework for her creative process and inspired her to look for the story and movement that always finds their way into her art. It is her dedication to the mastery of these two elements that results in her ability to combine both story and movement into her paintings.

Suzanne moved to Chester, VT where the focus of her painting turned even more sharply to the world of horses. Her combined passions for horses and art continue to expand and she exhibits in local galleries, and so it is that he continues to surround herself with horses and art as she pursues her career as a working artist.

Her loyal friends and muses, including two rambunctious huskies and a variety of local horses, are her daily inspiration to continue developing her skills as a painter of animals.

Some of the places Suzanne has exhibited her work are:

• The North Star Gallery in Grafton VT
• The Hunter Gallery in Grafton VT
• The Reed Gallery in Chester VT
• Landers & LaCours Collective Art in Chester, VT

She has also shown in The American Academy of Equine Art Fall Exhibition, in Lexington, Kentucky.