The Emily Monk Davidson Gallery at the Farmville Community Arts Council is pleased to present From The Field, an exhibition of watercolor works by Sue McIntyre and the artist’s first solo presentation with our gallery. The exhibition showcases an evocative collection of portraiture, still life, and landscapes that reflect McIntyre’s deeply human perspective —shaped by a lifetime spent in the world’s most challenging corners.

A retired humanitarian diplomat who served in 17 U.S. Embassies and numerous war zones—including Liberia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Sudan, Bosnia, and Ukraine—McIntyre brings to her art “a dialogue

between the artist, and the people and physical world that has touched her.” Now living part-time in Farmville and Italy, she invites her new community to see the world through her eyes—both the beauty and the resilience.

“Each brushstroke in this exhibit tells a story,” McIntyre writes. And indeed, the exhibition resonates with quiet power—from “sun-dappled still life paintings” to portraits that “capture precious moments in the faces of loved ones, both young and old.” Her seascapes and wooded scenes echo a reverence for nature formed in the wake of disaster and conflict, a reverence rooted in survival & grace.

In addition to her paintings, the exhibit features McIntyre’s three published books: Outside Heaven, An Afghanistan Experience, a memoir of her time in Kabul; Love’s Unexpected Gift, a romance novel; and The Last Time She Skipped, the Story of a Yemeni Bride, a work of fiction born from years in Yemen.

This exhibition is more than a presentation of art—it is an invitation to connect. “Visitors will enjoy the time viewing her paintings and find them a window into her busy, full life of traveling where most people do not go.” Now, settled in Farmville after a life of international service, McIntyre opens her heart—and her art—to her neighbors.
Come for the art, stay for the stories, and leave with a new understanding of what it means to see the world with compassion, curiosity, and courage.