Susan Fraser was born and educated in the United States. She has been a research assistant in microbiology labs, the manager of a private botanical garden, several garden centers and is currently an artist.

In 1983 she hitch-hiked around Europe touring galleries, museums and churches. Her art career began while living in Germany from 1984 to 1988. In 1988 she immigrated to Canada and painted commission work based on the abundance of migratory waterfowl of the Ontario flyways.

A year on Vancouver Island afforded opportunities to paint Orcas and to experience the west coast art scene.

Susan now resides in the Ottawa Valley, nestled between the Ottawa River and Algonquin Park where she is frequently visited by deer, owls, wolves and black bear on her acreage.

Her artwork is a result of life long study of nature and of photography which captures her subject in their natural state. The most intimate poses are acquired without awareness of a human presence. Susan has an amazing touch for textures, catching the velvet of the deer's antlers and the shine of the eye.

The toned paper provides both the background and the medium tone of the subject. The shading and highlights are done with black and white charcoal respectively. Many layers of varying hardness of charcoal are applied, blended and lifted with an eraser to provide a depth of texture to the fur.

"I am amazed at the openness of the facial expressions of deer. Their sensitivity to their surroundings is visible in every twitch of ear, side long glance or overall demeanor. The Black bear have been so much fun to photograph and draw. They are very playful by nature."