Introducing the work of Rebecca Annan. The artist was born in Essex, United Kingdom, in the seaside town of Frinton-on-Sea. She currently lives in London with her husband and two children. With a love of art from a young age, she completed her Foundation Diploma in Fine Art from the Colchester Institute in 2003. Following this, she trained and worked as a Pediatric Nurse for over a decade whilst attempting to continue artistic endeavors. She returned to art fully at the beginning of 2021 as a multimedia artist.

Statement

I make my work with the aim of capturing in art form what resonates with me from creation. I seek to create something beautiful from the beauty I observe; an observer trying to express a deep appreciation of the visual world around me.

I am inspired mostly by light, color, and the idea of impermanence. Especially in the beautiful but sometimes small, hidden views that could easily go unnoticed. Moonlight through a tree, a bed of yellow flowers, a moody sky, evening sunlight dappling on a wall...these are things that draw my eye. In an ever-changing world, I like to capture these moments in time so that the impermanent becomes more permanent and tangible. I am also inspired to capture the essence of a person; their character and likeness and appreciate the opportunity to do so.

Although I’d prefer to work from sight size - as I can do with my still life work - my process is such that I will frequently take snapshots of views, objects, or details that inspire me and work from the photographs with more dedicated time. I enjoy the expressions of many mediums and select the tools based on the subject matter.

Currently, I am mainly working in oil pastel to work more dynamically and incorporate colorful energy within my art. I do, however, like to pay very close attention to the details, especially in my graphite drawings. As a neuro-diverse individual, creating art allows me a space to be extremely focused. It becomes an almost mediative process for me.

My work doesn’t seek to ask questions but instead aims for the viewer to be drawn in by the details to experience joy and an appreciation of beauty. I strive to create pieces of art that are visually pleasing to the viewer and an accurate representation of form and color. I also hope that people can connect with my works on an emotive level, that they will evoke memories and remind the viewer of our connection as humans.

As someone with a deep faith that everything in creation is designed but temporary, I am drawn to the beauty in the design, especially in unexpected places.

You returned fully to your art practice at the beginning of this year after over a decade of working as a pediatric nurse. What prompted this transition and how has it been going?

Yes, that’s right. Nursing was a great profession but it’s wonderful to be back to creating art in a full-time capacity.

The transition occurred after a temporary move abroad as a family turned into a year and a half of moves. I was also home-educating our two children throughout, so when we returned to the UK in the midst of the pandemic, with schools closed, I continued this. Here in the UK, you have to have worked a certain number of hours per year to maintain your registration and I couldn’t meet that so had to say a farewell to nursing.

Throughout my nursing career, I’d attempted to continue my art practice on the side but the free time to create was minimal and this was always frustrating. So although the end of my nursing career caused a slight identity crisis at first, with a supportive nudge from my husband it didn’t take me long to embrace the fact that I could now return to my art practice fully!

Thank you for asking how it’s been going. I’ve been really enjoying it as creating art is vital for my mental wellbeing. With the home-schooling established it’s been perfect as I can work from home, with my current studio being the kitchen table. That is not without its challenges of course but I’ve created a regime that works where I’m present for my children and able to take my art practice seriously. I also think it’s great for them to be exposed to art daily, they will often give me their views and thoughts on what I’m creating!

As you mentioned I’d started my Fine Art training back in the early 2000s. I’d often regretted not completing my art degree but am aware I’m a different person now from who I was back then. I am much more disciplined and focused now. I appreciate that time is precious so I’m much more hard-working than I was at 20! I’ve been in catch-up mode and reached out to art friends who did stay the course for advice and seeking guidance on re-entering the art world. I feel I’ve been in a hurry to create and build a body of work that is a truer reflection of who I am today.

What specific steps have you taken to begin establishing your art practice professionally?

My first step was to get creating. Then, after seeking advice and feedback from art friends, I built a website and opened an Instagram art account to showcase my work and generate interest. I was thrilled that this brought in commissions quite quickly. This was brilliant but I was aware I also wanted to carve out time to establish my own artistic voice and build a body of work aside from commissions.

Each day I’ve been growing and learning. I am so grateful for how much advice there is out there, both for honing my technique, advice on materials and of course the business side of things.

With a body of work built up I made the step in August of this year to start applying to open-calls and happily had my work accepted into an exhibition. This really encouraged me to keep moving forward.

When I first started out I was quite nervous and hid behind my art, almost anonymously, and didn’t show my face. Though it’s not everyone’s choice to put themselves out there, the advice I kept hearing was that we all want to know who the artist is behind the work. So I am now creating under my name and showing my face occasionally too! We can feel vulnerable putting our artwork up and feeling judged on ‘likes’. Although it’s wonderful to see people responding positively to pieces, I also try to focus more on putting my all into creating pieces that I truly resonate with and hope that it will reach people that can resonate with it too.

Other defining steps have been creating a Facebook business page, finally changing my Linkedin profile from nurse to artist, and joining an Art Entrepreneur Club. This has massively helped me be more purposeful professionally.

Lastly, but consistently, I have been listening to and reading advice from artists and curators such as yourself. I’ve been absorbing all the wisdom I can with the aim of putting this advice into practice day by day, starting with revamping my website and commencing a mailing list.

Tell us more about your work. You are a mixed media artist primarily working in oil pastels. What is it about pastels that you most enjoy and what subjects have you been most interested in recently?

I’ve tended to choose my medium based on the subject matter I’m working from and in the past, this tended mainly towards graphite. I was finding, though, that I really wanted to explore color and recreate the colors in the things that inspired and brought me joy, with the hope of bringing joy to those that view my art. I love how sometimes these colors aren’t obvious until we look very closely and notice a warm light hitting a leaf or a cool shadow below it. I try to capture these colors.

Historically, my artworks have focused on detail, and even though I couldn’t get the exact same control of detail in oil pastels as graphite it has really challenged me to be looser, freer, and translate more of the energy of the subject. I hope this comes across.

Lastly, I enjoy the sensory texture of oil pastels. I’m finding I can use all sorts of tools to add texture - toothpicks, fingers, and matchsticks - and in the way I can apply it. It’s a blend-able medium that is more forgiving than watercolor, as you can manipulate it and change it for longer, but also quicker than oil paints for drying time and no waiting required between layers. This fits with my current lifestyle for now.

I am inspired by light, color, and the subject of impermanence. The subject matter I’ve been most interested in recently has been beautiful scenes involving nature.

As a city dweller who was born in the seaside and countryside, I am constantly seeking out green spaces and moments of serenity in the city. I appreciated over the pandemic just how important being outside is for our and our children’s wellbeing.

One of my recent artworks depicts a view of a beautiful pink moon that I saw in one of our UK “lockdowns”. I’d felt stressed and took a much-needed march around the block. I remember this view stopping me in my tracks and taking a moment to enjoy creation and breathe.

I am interested in how fleeting these scenes are and love how something impermanent can be captured more permanently in art form. This narrative inspired my oil-pastel still life series where I was creating artwork of fruits and plants from sight-size. Many of these objects change in appearance quickly and so it challenged me to work quickly to ‘immortalize’ these temporal objects.

Give us a bit of insight into your process. What are a few sources of inspiration? How does a piece typically start for you?

I’d love to be able to work more from life and sight-size but often my process involves working from photographs. Although in my previous answer I talked of taking some inspiration from inside the home, mainly inspiration comes to me from nature, creation, and light.

A piece typically starts with me getting excited by a particular view from my window or on a walk or getting stopped in my tracks at the way light is dappled on a wall. So I take lots of photos then find what I’d like to capture from that image. I then decide on the right medium that I think would work for the image and, after doing some light sketching first, I get creating. Most pieces I will work on consistently for days until I’ve reached a result I’m happy with. I like the challenge of creating the illusion of an image with mere mark-making and love that moment when the piece feels complete.

Favorite art-related quote or mantra?

My personal mantra is: “An idea has value when it has materialized” and “ Do the work and get it done”. The idea and inspiration is the easy part but to create the art takes work and I can only rely on myself for that.

One must-have item in your creative space?

My earphones! As I love a good podcast.

Although I get some work done in the day my most focused work is when I’ve tucked the kids up in bed. At that point, I make a cup of tea and enjoy a podcast, some music, or an audiobook whilst I work. I find it helps me to focus and concentrate on creating rather than getting distracted with thoughts of the to-do list. There’s a real mixture on my playlist- from art podcasts, faith, investigative journalism to comedy.

What goals do you have as an artist in the coming year? Five years? Ten?

My goals for the year ahead are to continue to learn and grow; to keep creating more series of work rather than standalone pieces; to apply (and hopefully be accepted) for more open calls and submissions and to reach more people that may enjoy my work in their lives.

In five years I hope to be incorporating more a plein air painting and creating in my practice, and hopefully, if it’s not too ambitious, have a solo show.

In ten years I hope to be established enough in my practice to start sharing knowledge through teaching and helping others through my work.

I’ve been struck recently by how much I value seeing art and how it is not so accessible for the visually impaired community. I’m not sure how yet but I would really like to play a part in making art more inclusive in any way that they would desire it to be.

What are you currently working on? Do you have any forthcoming projects or exhibitions you'd like to share?

I’ve recently finished an oil-pastel “Still Life” series and my oil-pastel “Landscape” series is ongoing as I’ve another view I’m keen to re-create.

I’ve also had a temporary return to graphite and charcoal for a mini-series on “Comfort”. This time of year, as the nights are drawing in here in the UK, I’ve found myself focusing on cozy things like my duvet, pillow, and favorite cardigan to see how the light falls on them but also because they evoke that feeling of comfort.

One of my oil pastel still-life pieces has just finished exhibiting at a group exhibition in Sheffield’s Fronteer Gallery. I am in the process of applying for future opportunities where I hope my work will be able to be viewed.

In the meantime, my work can be viewed on Instagram at @rebecca_annan_art