A native North Carolinian, Susan Wells Vaughan was born in Salisbury and moved to the Outer Banks in 1990. She began painting with tempera and newsprint when she was ten and has been involved in art professionally for over twenty years.
        Though her painting style is mostly  self-taught, inspired by Grandma Moses and other folk/outsider artists, Susan did study Art History and drawing at several colleges and universities in North Carolina, including UNC-G where she earned a BA in English/History. After graduation, she continued her studies as a Commercial Art student at Guilford Technical Community College and more recently as a grad student in Public Health at UNC-CH.  She is an advocate of environmental reform and supports groups such as Pesticide Free NC and Physcians for Social Responsibility.

        Susan is known locally for her folk-art style town portraits and her whimsical depictions of Outer Banks scenes. Her colorful crab paintings brightened the covers of "The Restaurant Guide to the Outer Banks"  and other local publications. Her work has won numerous awards in local competitions, including two People's Choice awards, two Merit awards, and one Excellence award in the Frank Stick Memorial Art Show and runner-up twice in the local "Beach Book" cover competition. Outer Banks Magazine included her among its 1997-98 featured artists.