Sue deLearie Adair - About Sue

Sue deLearie Adair - Biography

Sue’s artwork is inspired by her love of the natural world: close to her home in Upstate New York and from far afield. A birder for over 30 years, Sue is an avid naturalist who draws her inspiration and reference material directly from observations made in nature. She features detailed subjects with simple, sometimes even stylized, backgrounds. Sue draws in various combinations of graphite, colored pencil, and watercolor.

Sue grew up near Syracuse in central New York State and discovered birds and birding in that area when she was in her mid-twenties. It wasn’t until nearly two decades later that she combined her latent artistic ability with her love of birds and began to produce wildlife art.

Today Sue splits her time between homes in Schenectady, New York and Stony Point on Lake Ontario. From these locations she explores many wonderful natural areas, but most especially the shoreline of Lake Ontario. She spends many hours in the field observing and photographing wildlife. She has traveled extensively in North America and has made several trips to the neo-tropics.

Sue’s work has been included in many prestigious national and international exhibits including Birds in Art (Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum), Art and the Animal (the Society of Animal Artists annual exhibition) and many international miniature exhibitions. Her work has received numerous awards including the Society of Animal Artists highest honor, the Award of Excellence on two occasions, and two miniature Best in Show awards. Sue teaches drawing classes during the summer at the Thousand Island Arts Centers. She is a distinguished signature member of the Society of Animal Artists, and a signature member of the Miniature Artists of America and the Colored Pencil Society of America.

Resume

Affiliations

Distinguished Signature Member, Society of Animal Artists
Signature Member, Miniature Artists of America
Signature Member, Colored Pencil Society of America
Elected Member, Miniature Painters, Sculptors & Gravers Society of Washington, D.C.

Selected Exhibits

2026-2010 Art and the Animal, Society of Animal Artists' annual exhibition, Various Venues
2024, 2020-2019, 2015, 2013-2012 Birds in Art, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, WI
2026-2018 International Exhibition of Fine Art in Miniature, The Miniature Painters, Sculptors and Gravers Society of Washington, D.C.
2026-2019 Annual International Miniature Show, Miniature Art Society of Florida, Leepa-Rattner Museum at St. Petersburg College (even years) / Dunedin Fine Art Center (odd years)
2026-2010 Kentucky National Wildlife Art Exhibit (biannual), Ohio Valley Art League, Henderson, KY
2026-2014 Waterfowl Festival, Easton, MD
2021 Solo Exhibition, Thousand Islands Art Center, Clayton, NY
2015 Solo Exhibition, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY

Selected Awards and Achievements

2026 Excellence in All Entries, Annual International Miniature Art Exhibition, Miniature Art Society of Florida
2025 Best in Show for "Couch Potato", Animals in Art, LSU School of Veterinary Medicine
2025, 2022-2021, 2019 Best Drawing, International Miniature Show, Seaside Art Gallery, Nags Head, N
2024 Rotary Club of Henderson Award, Kentucky National Wildlife Art Exhibit for "Searching the Shadows"
2023 Fist Place Drawing for "And then There Were Two", International Exhibition of Fine Art in Miniature, The Miniature Painters, Sculptors and Gravers Society of Washington, D.C.
2022 Award of Excellence, Society of Animal Artists 62nd Annual Exhibition for "Quietude"
2022 The Charles Stagg Award for "Day Dreaming Night-Heron" and the Theo Williamson, Edward Jones Award for "Two at the Colony", Kentucky National Wildlife Art Exhibit
2021 First Place Miniatures for "Singing from the Buckthorn", Parklane Gallery's annual Winter Show of Miniatures and Small Works, Kirkland, WA
2021 Best in Show for "Squirrel", Council for the Arts annual miniature show, Chambersburg, PA
2020 First Place, Animals for "Little Bandit", International Exhibition of Fine Art in Miniature, The Miniature Painters, Sculptors and Gravers Society of Washington, D.C.
2020 First Place, Marine for "Mighty Waves", Annual International Miniature Art Exhibition, Miniature Art Society of Florida
2016 Merritt Deitz Memorial Award, Kentucky National Wildlife Art Exhibit for "Go Your Own Way"
2013 Award of Excellence, Society of Animal Artists 53rd Annual Exhibition for "Grumpy Old Men"

Publications

2017 Southwest Art magazine, featured in "Shades of Gray" portfolio
2017 Strokes of Genius 9: Creative Discoveries
2015 Painters of Grand Teton National Park
2014 Strokes of Genius 6: Value
2013 Strokes of Genius 5: Composition
2012 Southwest Art magazine, included in the drawing portfolio section
2012 Strokes of Genius 4: Exploring Line
2011 Strokes of Genius 3: Fresh Perspectives, 3 drawings
2011 CreaturesAll magazine cover
2008 The Second Breeding Bird Atlas of New York State, 25 illustrations
2007 North American Butterflies magazine cover

Collections

Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, WI
Bennington Center for the Arts, Bennington, VT
New York State Museum, Albany, NY
Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY

Education

Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Geology, St. Lawrence University

Sue observing Lesser Prairie Chickens at a lek in Colorado in 2002.

Sue and husband John in Panama in 2007.

Sue and a Crimson Rosella at O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat, Australia in 2011.

Sue receiving the Society of Animal Artist's Award of Excellence at the Bennington Center for the Arts, 2013.

Sue at her cottage on Lake Ontario, 2019.