Meet our very first featured artist, Annie.

I commissioned Annie to create textile patterns from her incredible work in acrylic, resin, and ink.  

The most fascinating part of his process for me was getting these two very dramatically different prints and instantly falling in love with them both.  It was much further into the conversation that I finally put together that these were not two different finished canvases.  These were two snapshots of the same canvas at two different points in the process.  

*Mind Blown!*

  The concept alone of something so incredible that it only existed for a few moments in time and is only captured in a photograph is beautiful and part of what lead this print to be called "Dream".

The soft, ethereal nature of the part of the canvas is captivating.  The depth of the colors draws you in and the layering of the tendrils of color that weave together this together feels effortless.  The whimsical lightness of this feels innocent and beautiful, just like what is inside each and every one of us.  

The next second print, is much more dramatic and energetic.  The blacks and reds are powerful and the golds anchor this painting.  The bold and brazen nature of this print resulted in the name "Desire"

The swirls of blacks and fierce reds are overlaid with hints of the innocent and whimsical purples and pinks showing through.  Beauty is not always light and fluffy.  Sometimes it is bold and seductive.

I personally love these two compositions within the same canvas.  I love their dueling nature and the beauty in each of them.  This story is something that resonates deeply with me.  I am learning to believe that I can be someone who is a whimsical dreamer on the inside and be a bold and strong woman on the outside.  They are not mutually exclusive and they are both parts of making me who I am.  We each have something precious inside of us and sometimes we need to protect it with armor on the outside, but sometimes if you let that shine through, the results are incredible.

//

INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS: (see the full interview here)

I sat down with Annie to talk about her art, her process and the creation of this canvas.  Here are some highlights from that interview to give you some insights on to who she is and what makes her art so unique and special.

-

CB: Tell me about your art and what it means to you.

AD: “So the process of abstract art is the thing that I am drawn to and that I love about it.  It’s the physicality of it and the act of bringing a compositing into harmony with the different colors, the weight of the composition and how everything looks within it.  It is definitely an evolving process and it is something that goes through different growing pains and growing stretches as I am painting. I have never resonated much with art that feels tedious to make.  I enjoy this type of art so much because I enjoy pouring paint and the fluid abstracts, I am so into it.”

//

CB: What is the process of creating a painting?

AD: So much of what goes into every abstract piece is this amalgamation of everything that I have ever learned about color theory and shape development and the actual way that the medium responds to itself, how it dries, the viscosity of the paint and how much I have to water it down, all that stuff.  It's definitely very much a flow state when I am painting. Everything is automatic and gets these little adjustments until it's at a place that I recognize to be a stopping place.

//

CB: Do you listen to music when you paint:  

AD: “I do, mostly instrumental stuff.  It’s because its a flow state while I am painting, it is very susceptible to outside influence.  It's to the point that if I have other art in my studio, I need to cover it or face it in another direction.  Music is more of a ritualistic aspect of when I am setting up my studio and get me in the right headspace. I haven’t really experimented with different types of music.

//

CB: Do you paint at certain times of day?

AD: No, I really paint whenever I have time.  I definitely have a need to paint. I have to paint. Then I feel a lot more balanced and its a meditative process for me. It’s definitely something that I have to do on a regular basis or I just go crazy.  The more often, the better.

//

CB: What is the evolution of a painting?

AD: So its pretty standard for me to start out feeling pretty good with a painting and really excited about where it is going. And then I work into it and i get a little spend and then I am like ‘oh gosh, this is not going the way I wanted it to go’. There is usually a low point in the production of some piece where I am like ‘I ruined this, this is terrible, I am going to have to start the whole thing over’. Then I come back later after it has dried and I am like ‘Oh, this dried well, Ok, I feel a lot better about that’ and then I tune it up from there and then I am like, ‘this is amazing!’ Its a rollercoaster of emotions for every painting that I make.  Its a really emotional process, its the creative process in a nutshell. It's the same thing that you go through when you are developing that you care a great deal about, it's definitely something that you are invested in. It's full of its ups and downs, for sure.  One of my favorite things about the way that I paint is watching the paint dry.  Is fascinating to watch the flow of the paint and to kinda influence where things are going and how things are mixing.  But there are times when I am like,’no no no, don't go that way’ and that just gravity or the tilt of the canvas or too much water in one area.  There are lots of things that can influence how it interacts. 

//

CB:  I am always obsessed with peoples workflow and how people approach creativity, how they creatively problem solve and how people work through their highs and lows.

AD: It’s a huge part of the creative process, no matter what you do and is part of the work process, even if you don’t consider yourself a creative, and I would totally argue that everyone is.  Whatever it is that you do, you go through the same cycles of self-doubt and then bolstered self-esteem when something goes correctly and then having to problem solve when something is not going correctly.  No matter what it is, even if you don't think its creative, it's a similar cycle.

//

You can find more of Annie's work and even commission your own art!  No seriously, her Dog Portraits are incredible!  http://www.anniedenisonart.com/

// 

TIMELAPSE VIDEO:  What the canvas come to life!

With all of the scarves from this collection, 1% of sales with be donated to Annie's favorite organization, The Neighborhood Arts Collective. 

"We are a group of artists who create art inspired by the lives of people around us.  We do this with compassion and integrity in a way that allows others an opportunity to empathize with people who may or may not live similar lives to their own."

You can find out more about them here: https://neighborhoodartscollective.org/