Gallery 'N' Gifts June guest artists, husband and wife, Susan and William Bishop

Susan Bishop grew up in the foothill town of Springville, California. She lived on the family cattle ranch and roamed the Golden Hills, shaded by the Oaks trees and rested by the cool Tule River. In the summer, her family operated the Balch Park Pack Station for generations.

These formative years greatly affected her subject matter, expressed in acrylic paintings of the land she loves. Susan loves to paint, especially for her clients, depicting a favorite duck hunting scene, serene pastor setting or a portrait of their favorite pet.

William Bishop graduated from Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, California. William's background includes freelance magazine illustration, technical illustration for the aerospace industry and 12 years as a medical illustrator at the University of California Los Angeles.

William always wanted to work with wood and in 1986 he took a leap of faith, quit his job at UCLA and began carving professionally. He did well in competitions, winning many blue ribbon and best of show awards in carving exhibitions throughout the United States. That very next year he was honored with the first place award in the Life-Size Decorative Waterfowl category at the Ward Brothers World Championship held in Ocean City, Maryland.

Susie and William moved north to Morro Bay, California area where the bird sanctuary made studying wildfowl more accessible.

William has judged many carving competitions and served as president of the Pacific Southwest Wildfowl Arts Associations in San Diego. After a while, both made the move to Prescott, Arizona, where they enjoyed 13 years and William continued to carve and made collectors commissioned carvings.

Susie and Bill reside now in Tulare, California surrounded by beautiful rivers, trees and wildlife, which allows Bill to combine two of his favorite pastimes, fly-fishing and wood carving. Susan gives painting lessons to all ages and enjoys sharing her talents with the school children of Tulare County. She has much to offer and loves to share her talent. His grandchildren now gather at Bill's side and learn his woodcarving passion. William and Susie share and mentor their love for wildlife and the arts.

Join us to meet Susie and William at our First Friday reception, June 2, where you can enjoy the company of these talented couple at their Guest Artist Reception; "The Bishops – Reflections in Paint and Wood." Refreshments will be served from 4 to 7 p.m. at Gallery N' Gifts, 100 W. Tehachapi Blvd.