The love of art began at an early age for Sue Perry. It was for her twelfth birthday that she asked her mother for oil painting lessons. She hasn’t stopped painting since.  When her children became school age, Perry took classes from highly-regarded artists. Always eager to improve her techniques and knowledge of painting, Perry sought out mentors such as Lau Chun - renowned Impressionist painter of Hawai’i for the past twenty years.

Following the directions of one of her teachers to be prepared to “paint one hundred paintings” before she would see results, Sue Perry began her countdown. It was with painting number 101 that her dedication finally paid off. Perry won the coveted first prize in the Lahaina Poster Contest launching her artistic career and her paintings into the Maui art scene. She has since mastered her techniques to depict texture, manipulate color, and communicate movement with ease and confidence. Her love of Renoir and self-proclaimed stylistic tendencies toward Impressionism are apparent. It is told that when Renoir painted flowers, he simply let his brain rest and as a result, we are able to see the sheer pleasure conveyed through his painting. Sue Perry has perfected this technique well. Her awareness of the beauty emanating from her garden is reflected through the reverence with which she paints them. 


Perry has experimented with a variety of mediums, but has always found such satisfaction with oils that she rarely strays from using it. The brilliant colors and explosive pace are hard to achieve with other mediums. Primed with a wash of Indian Yellow, each Perry painting begins with a warm under-glow. Painting en plein air allows her to explore the vibrant world of her surroundings and compliments the urgency with which Perry paints. She uses only a palette knife as a means of applying paint to the canvas. It is the intensity of this fast-paced style and facile handling of light that stamps Perry’s work as unique – alive with movement . 


Perry spends six hours each day fine-tuning her artistic skills, and conveniently enough, her favorite place to paint is her own back yard. Delighting in the multi-colored abundance of her up-country protea farm, Perry views her surroundings as a living palette, its colors – radiant and pure – blended by nature. Situated on two acres in Kula, Perry spends much of her time in the spacious studio she designed and built with husband, Terry. 


It is hard to tell whether her paintings are inspired by her gardening, or vice versa. While her talent for color and arrangement are found equally magnificent in her paintings as well as in her gardens, Perry’s expertise in working the earth lends itself well to her artistic inspirations. Like her well-planned gardens, Perry directs the viewer through each canvas as a journey through what the artist herself has experienced and felt. 


While her love of Maui and its everlasting beauty has filled many a canvas, she also has enjoyed several trips to New Zealand and Japan. Each venture brought a new source of inspiration and influence to Perry’s art. 


Perry has long been intrigued with Blue Willow – from the Legend to the history, to the artifacts that display this romantic story of star-crossed lovers. Her home and studio abound with interpretations of the Legend created in a myriad of media. These cherished items frequently become part of her still life compositions. 


Sue Perry has found happiness in painting. With a constantly roving eye searching for her next master-piece, she always manages to find the perfect scenes. With her broad range of interests and continuous success at finding beauty, it is hard for Perry to not see the world as it might appear on her canvas. She is currently an artist member of Oil Painters of America and Plein Air Painters of Maui. It is a pleasure to showcase work that looks at life with such a joyful eye. Lahaina Galleries is proud to represent Maui’s own, Sue Perry.