For more than four centuries, artists and craftsmen have gathered under the banner of the Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers, one of the City of London’s oldest livery companies.

Now, one of Farnham’s best-known artists, Susie Lidstone, has become its newest Freeman.

The north Farnham-based artist, celebrated for her intricate floral and architectural paintings, joins a company whose origins date back to 1581.

Once home to some of the great portrait and landscape painters, the company today brings together fine and decorative artists, supporting arts education and crafts through charitable work. Its original hall, near Pudding Lane, was among the first buildings lost in the Great Fire of London in 1666.

Susie was proposed for the honour by two Liverymen and two fellow artists, recognition of her long-standing commitment to mentoring others and supporting charitable causes.

“I feel truly humbled and blessed,” she said.

The company noted how closely Susie’s ethos aligns with its own, one of encouragement and community. Her commissions bring her into contact with a wide range of people, and she regularly works with galleries, museums and shops.

“I believe that art should be available to everyone,” she said. “I appreciate budgets are limited, so I make my work affordable.”

When opening her studio, exhibiting in galleries or appearing at art shows, she is always willing to share advice and guidance with aspiring artists.

Her charitable work includes supporting Transplant Links Community, which provides lifesaving kidney transplants; Mend a Broken Heart, funding children’s heart surgery in poorer countries; Farnham Lions Club, for whom she paints annually for their Advent raffle; and Farnham Assist, which supports older residents.

She also welcomes pupils from a local school into her studio each year. “As an artist but more importantly a human being, I have been blessed to have a way of communicating with so many people,” she said.

Her architectural paintings also reflect the company’s traditions. In addition to many Farnham scenes, her portfolio includes commissions of grand buildings such as Tyntesfield in Somerset, and she is often asked to paint wedding venues as gifts for couples.

The honour of Freeman of the Company was conferred during what she described as a “surreal ceremony” in which she pledged to uphold the company’s values.

Her next step will be receiving the Freedom of the City of London, expected to be approved by the Court of Aldermen on Tuesday, December 9.

“I’ll be able to drive my sheep over the River Thames. I’d better get some!” she joked.

The award carries special meaning for Susie, whose late father was a Freeman of the Company of Marketors and later a Freeman of the City of London.

“This means so much personally because of my dear father,” she said.