Suzi Marquess Long arrived in Mendocino in 2006 and opened her own gallery filled with her beautiful pastel paintings. At the age of 50 she discovered her biological grandfather has passed on the genes for artistic talent. Suzi teaches pastels and travel journaling and can usually be found painting "en plein air" on the Mendocino headlands.

Studies of art, design, and painting at the University of Hawaii led to a career as a mural painter and now a fine art painter. Her chosen medium of pastels came from childhood. She never considered pastels as an "adult" medium, and began painting in earnest with watercolors. At a Taos art workshop, it was suggested that if one ever came across a medium that was easier for the artist than the one currently being applied, that the artist should be using the easier medium. The childhood experience kicked in shortly after the workshop and pastels became Suzi's best form of expression.