Featured Artist Ann Cheeks

Landscape artist Ann Cheeks captures the natural beauty of the earth around her. To see more of her work, please visit her website.

 

 

For the love of it … earth, painting, life.

 

 

For the love of it all. This is what my work is about.

 

 

Our wild and natural places are remarkable and important, finite and endangered. Life without such places is unimaginable.

 

 

Being outside, away from the masses and the accompanying insanity grounds me. The insignificance of what seems so important in everyday life is obvious when in a natural place largely untouched by humans. Watching ice cold water racing over rocks, the glowing leaves of an aspen flipping around in the breeze or the brilliant colors of a sunset swiftly change – these are the things that inspire me.

 

 

The breathtaking beauty of our world is a gift to experience and my painting is an attempt to capture and share this. For me, it’s all about getting to a place that feels, well, right. The places that I paint require time and effort to get to and are therapeutic to be in.

 

 

The same applies to the process of painting for me as well. I tend to go back to places many times and spend a lot of time there so I get the feel of the place.

 

 

Generally, I work from photos but this wouldn’t be possible for me without the experience of the time spent there. My goal is to share the feeling of whatever it is that I’m painting.

 

 

Many of my paintings have been purchased for several healthcare facilities. I hope that this continues and that other businesses where people need a soothing place to go will include my work to aid in that goal.

 

 

In addition to painting, I teach art to children and adults.The teaching supports me while I build my reputation as a painter, and the back and forth with students will always be a learning experience on many levels. I love playing with and sharing a wide variety of materials and techniques, from sticks and mud to screen printing and mosaics.

 

 

Making art is what I do. Whether it’s a solitary endeavor or working on a collaborative project with schoolchildren, it is at the core of who I am. I feel incredibly lucky to be able to do this.

 

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