Portaits of women from different cultures highlight Chesterfield artist's call for equality

One of the models has survived a life-threatening eating disorder, another makes earrings to support her family in Nigeria and a Native American models jewellery to help fund herself through university.

Sue Dickins has captured her strong and determined friends on canvas for a new exhibition that opens at West Studios in Chesterfield this month.

She said: "The exhibition, called Women United, is a collection of oil paintings/portraits of women from all around the world and from different cultures wearing traditional dress where possible. I wanted to show that we are all equal, no matter what the colour of our skin or our culture is. We should all be treated equally. We are all human beings."

The 51-year-old artist hopes that her exhibition will be an uplifting experience, particularly for those who have issues with mental health.

Sue has a bipolar condition, which she has struggled with in the past. She said: "Being creative, and painting especially, has helped enormously. Art has been a powerful tool to pull me through. I have had the support and encouragement from both Bipolar UK and Derbyshire Voluntary Action at Chesterfield to help me prepare for the project."

The centrepiece of Sue's exhibition is a metre-high painting of her English friend Alex. Sue said: "I was truly inspired by Alex; she has been on an incredible journey to become the strong, beautiful woman that she is today. When I first met Alex she explained that she was still recovering from an eating disorder that had almost taken her life earlier that year. She now supports the charity Beat and has done a sponsored walk to raise money for them, to raise awareness of eating disorders.

"I decided that we should use somewhere typically English for her photo shoot so we spent a day at our local English Heritage site, Bolsover Castle. I captured her gazing through a window in the Star Chamber, once only used for family or very special guests."

Sue has a passion for painting different fabrics and loves figurative work so decided to combine the two. She said: "For some of my models I sent for traditional items of clothing especially for their portrait. For example, I purchased and had imported a traditional Polish shawl for my friend Marzenna who I've known for about ten years....her girls used to go to school with my son, Ben, who is 18 now and at college studying electrical installation."

She will be unveiling her collection at an open evening on April 15 from 6pm to 9pm. The exhibition continues at West Studios on Sheffield Road, Chesterfield from April 17 to 28, opening from 10am to 4pm.

The artist behind the portraits will be in attendance throughout the exhibition. Sue said: "I intend working on a new project whilst there so guests can see me work."

It's the second exhibition that Sue has presented at West Studios. She said: "My last exhibition,This Women's Work, was a huge success and gave me the confidence to carry on and prepare another."