Susan Bower was born in Yorkshire in 1953. She had a science upbringing – and studied sciences at Nottingham, Sussex and Leeds Universities - but she always loved to draw and paint. She had four children in quick succession and drew them at every opportunity.

In 1985, after the birth of her fourth child, Susan Bower began painting professionally and became a student of William Selby. She was made a Member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters in 1992 and elected to the Royal Institute of British Artists in 1998. Over the years she has exhibited in most of the major societies, academies and institutes of art, in both mixed and solo exhibitions.