Susan Benson was born in Kent. She trained as a painter in the UK before emigrating to Canada. Her work as a painter has been interwoven with design for theatre, ballet and opera. Portraiture has been prominent in her painting, but the influence of the natural world, especially the scenery of the West Coast of Canada is revealed in her landscapes and in her representations of natural forms. Her time spent in the Leighton Colony at the Banff Centre has had a profound effect on her work as a painter. The original time spent in the Colony was part of a Banff Centre Award for Contributions to the Arts in Canada. Since then she has been able to spend further She lives on Salt Spring Island on the West Coast of Canada.