Complex sentence: Susan Powers (born in 1954 in Glen Cove, New York) is a self-taught American artist who began painting in 1979, encouraged by a friend and fellow painter who had seen her expressive pencil drawings.
Split into simpler sentences: Susan Powers (born in 1954 in Glen Cove, New York) is a self-taught American artist. Powers began painting in 1979, encouraged by a friend and fellow painter who had seen her expressive pencil drawings.