Merry Christmas!

Wishing you and yours all the blessings and miracles of the season. Happy holidays from Artwork by Anna Rose! Read more »

Merry Christmas!

Mermaids in Arizona

Newly sporting a REAL (and very cute, I might add!) baby bump, and enjoying my second trimester energy, I have been on the go since mid-November. As one of my friends said, "That baby's been more places in utero than some people ever go in their lives!" Steve and I had a weekend trip to New York City, where I got to check out Casey Baugh 's solo show and spend a whole day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Just a few days after returning from NY, we headed out again and spent ten days in Arizona. It was only supposed to be an 8-day trip, but the weekend we were to fly back, Dallas and most of the Midwest got blasted by an ice storm, leaving us stranded in sunny Arizona. :-) Okay, so it wasn't a bad place to be stuck. Here are some pictures from our first weekend in AZ… Read more »

Mermaids in Arizona

An Epidemic of Artistic THEFT

I recently discovered that I'm being robbed... by a factory in China. Photo:  http://www.cbsnews.com/news/booming-chinese-art-forging-business-hurts-us-artists/ It started when I saw this Facebook status by artist Scott Burdick : This is nothing new; his worked has been ripped off by several different places in China for a couple of years now. This website:  http://www.oilpaintings-supplier.com/  is one of many to spring up recently. It is truly disturbing how many living artists are featured on the site. In essence, these companies steal images off the internet by both dead and living artists, to be cranked out and sold by their factory artists as cheap and poorly done hand-painted copies. It is a case of mass artistic property theft, with little that can be done by the artists to stop it… Read more »

An Epidemic of Artistic THEFT

Another Weekend in Putney

This past weekend, I was given another wonderful learning opportunity, as well as a chance to fellowship with like-minded people who are passionate about painting. I got to go back to Putney, VT, to paint once more with the Putney Painters... and this time, on Saturday, Richard Schmid was there! Richard was as warm, kind, funny, clever, and generous as I imagined he would be. After reading "Alla Prima," I already felt as though I knew him, because he writes in the same manner as he speaks: eloquently, succinctly, and always with a great sense of humor. He and Nancy make the most wonderful pair. As if it weren't enough that they are world-class painters, in a category of their own - they are among the most gracious and loving people I have ever met. While they have every righ… Read more »

Another Weekend in Putney

Oh Baby...

I'm a little ashamed at how infrequent my blog posts have been lately. I have a very good reason for being absent, though... I am PREGNANT! That's right, Baby Bain is due mid-May, 2014. Here is my cheesy announcement that I posted on Facebook: Thankfully, I haven't bowed down to the ceramic throne yet - not once! But, I have been subject to extreme fatigue, resulting in daily 1-2 hour naps and general laziness. Ironically, I've felt an urge to do lots of home cooking, cleaning, looking at baby slings on Pinterest, and darning socks (okay, not really!). Seriously, though, what is happening to me?! The painting hasn't really stopped, but I have been forced to slow down a little. Yet God is good. He knows I have lots to do before I can officially close this pre-motherhood… Read more »

Oh Baby...

Master Copy: Richard Schmid

Some experiences are so powerful, they have a way of changing your life in more ways than you can count. For me, being introduced to the work and legacy of Richard Schmid was one of those experiences. Ten years ago, as a pimple-faced college freshman, I went on a field trip with my college painting professor and some fellow art students, to the Butler Institute of Art in Youngstown, Ohio. The object of our visit: Richard Schmid’s retrospective show and slideshow lecture. I didn’t know anything about Richard or his work, having grown up in rural Wisconsin in a very sheltered home, where our only real exposure to the current art world was watching Bob Ross on PBS (yes, my first paint kit was a Bob Ross set!). But in spite of my naivety, I did know that I felt an irresistible draw to the worl… Read more »

Master Copy: Richard Schmid

The Model That's Always There...

Okay, okay. Before you call me a narcissist, let me explain why I paint so many self portraits. 1. The model is FREE. 2. I can paint at any time without having to schedule it. 3. It allows for some crazy experimentation. 4. It allows for more practice working with a model that doesn't hold still. There are many more reasons, but those a few of the main ones.  Today I did a quick self portrait in about an hour and a half. The inspiration was, ironically, that I had no inspiration, but still felt like I should paint for a little while, at least. Recently, I put up some beautiful vintage-looking curtains in my studio. They block out direct sunlight without overly darkening the room, and the colors are lovely. I've been thinking about setting up a model in front of the curtains for a… Read more »

The Model That's Always There...

Extreme Close-Ups of a Finished Portrait

I have several portrait commissions going right now, and I just finished one last week. Unfortunately, I can't show it to you until it's unveiled in November, but I couldn't resist giving you a couple little detail shots in the mean time, since this is one of my most successful commissioned portraits EVER. :-) I was loving the outdoor light, white dresses, and rugged rocks. You'll notice I tried to stay fairly loose and painterly in the rocks and clothing, but smoothed out my brushwork over the skin. The weight, size, and thickness of a brushstroke should be determined by the subject matter. I wanted to treat the skin of the two girls with both sensitivity and freshness to indicate their youth. The overall canvas size is 42x36". I can't wait to show you the whole … Read more »

Extreme Close-Ups of a Finished Portrait