Where the Skylarks Sing
Published by Lord Wandsworth College on Wednesday 30th of September 2026
Expressive landscape artist, Suzanne Winn, has a favourite spot in The 1200.
Over the course of the last few months and in preparation for her residency at LWC, she’s been hungrily returning to it.
“It’s between two fields on the route of The Beckwith,” she confides. “It’s very much my kind of place. If I go somewhere and I can hear the skylarks singing, it’s for me, because they also love those open landscapes and wide skies.”
Suzanne has had a deep connection with nature since she was small. Living on the edge of her grandparents’ dairy farm in Gloucestershire, she would regularly roam the great outdoors to ‘escape’ and ‘feel free.’ It wasn’t until the age of 40 that Suzanne began painting and rediscovered this love of landscapes.
“Art has been wonderful for reconnecting me with nature,” she admits. “That love has always been there, but I didn’t really think about it for a long time and now it’s central to what I’m all about as an artist.”
Mum of three, Suzanne, began her working life in the tech world, moving to the travel industry before studying for a doctorate in clinical psychology at the University of Surrey. “It became apparent that I was trying to do too much,” she reveals. “So I left the training and focused on the children. I started to paint when I was pregnant with Harry, (now in 4th Form at LWC). It’s just gradually gone from there.”
A local weekly art class led to Suzanne developing her skills and quickly discovering that landscapes were her passion. “I focus a lot on skies and try to catch the feeling of a place,” she explains. “I think I really started to focus on them in lockdown, when even though we were restricted, we were still able to go out and connect with nature. I love the sense of space and freedom that skies represent. It’s a place to escape to. You can let yourself drift away into a beautiful big sky and there are so many different moods based upon the energy, the colours, the feeling.”
“This is such a beautiful place and we’re lucky to have this here. How amazing to be able to come and draw in this environment.”
-Suzanne Winn, Artist
Suzanne begins her two-week residency at LWC on Monday, 28th September. She’ll spend her time working with students from across the school, before turning her attention to leading a workshop for parents and staff on Saturday, 3rd October. There will also be an opportunity to view her incredible collection, inspired by The 1200, as part of an exhibition in The Prideaux Gallery from Monday, 28th September to Sunday, 11th October. This will include a Private View, open to all, on Thursday, 1st October from 6.30-8.30pm. Suzanne’s work around The 1200 has been a labour of love and something which has allowed her to see the College landscape through a different lens.
“Obviously, I’ve known the school for many years, coming in and out with various children,” she smiles. “But I hadn’t really got to know The 1200 until I started this project and I would almost say (without wanting to sound too over the top) that I’ve fallen in love with the landscape here. The open farm sitting under the wide skies, the long views, the energy – I just love it.”
Since finding her ‘spot,’ Suzanne has been a regular visitor. “I’ve been going back there repeatedly, sometimes whizzing up there in the evenings to take a look at the sky,” she admits. “I take a board up there and draw with pastels to keep me connected with the landscape. I first went and began drawing at that spot in the middle of May and it’s remarkable how much it’s changed in that time. It began with the lush greens, the wheatfields turning golden. Now there are wild plums and blackberries in the hedgerows and even when you’re there during the daytime, everything is evolving; it never repeats, you can never get bored.”
One of the key messages that Suzanne hopes to relay to all of those she works with over the coming weeks is the importance of really noticing your surroundings.
“When you start to draw, you really start to look at something, much more than if you’re out walking. This is such a beautiful place and we’re lucky to have this here. How amazing to be able to come and draw in this environment. As Mary Oliver says, ‘Attention is the beginning of devotion.’ You have to really notice something before you can begin to care about it.”
Suzanne has been exhibiting nationwide since 2017, working with a range of different materials including pastels, charcoal and a palette knife. Her residency at LWC will be her first, though. “I’ve been asked if I teach and lead workshops on a few occasions,” she reveals. “But I felt as though this opportunity was too good to miss. I needed to do it because this is my kind of place and I think the LWC ethos of making the most of the space here and plugging into nature is very much aligned with mine. I’m excited to encourage students to try different things and be open to new experiences. I’ll also learn and grow with this residency and that’s important. I came to art later in life and followed those little breadcrumbs that interested me. It’s about discovering what’s inside you and finding that ‘thing’ that sparks your interest.”
Suzanne can help with that discovery. Until then, you’ll find her with the skylarks.
Suzanne Winn’s residency at LWC runs from Monday, 28th September to Sunday, 11th October, when her exhibition of work inspired by The 1200 will also be available to view in The Prideaux Gallery. There is a Private View on Thursday, 1st October and a workshop for LWC parents and staff between 9.30am and 1pm on Saturday, 3rd October.
You can discover more about Suzanne’s residency and the body of work created for it in this beautiful e-book.
Sarah Walker | 25 September 2026
