Featured Artist Ann Stockdale

Oil painter Ann Stockdale’s bold and colorful portfolio reflects her creative life as a free spirit. Enjoy her work and visit her website to view more.

 

 

Growing up on Miami beach in the ‘50s was fun and inspiring. My love of music was amplified by live shows in the fabulous hotels where people like Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Ella, and even Elvis played. They didn’t seem to notice a twelve-year-old hanging around in the back.

 

 

When I was seventeen my family moved to Ireland, as my dad was appointed Ambassador by President Kennedy. Dad and Kennedy were great friends. Daddy was “suicided” ten days after Kennedy was assassinated.

 

 

After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, I left for New York. There I appeared for a short stint on Broadway, the only girl in a cast of four. While in New York, I fell in love with a British satirist and moved back to London.

 

 

When our marriage fell apart a few years later, I started meeting rock and rollers and engaged enthusiastically in the music scene of the ‘60s, which was creatively amazing. I started writing songs and recording a bit, but at the beginning of the ‘70s felt the need to return to the U.S. I have written an art book, Myself Inclined including escapades with Jimi Hendrix, Traffic, Mick Jagger, Dr. John and many others.

 

 

I was in my late twenties when my Mini Cooper docked in New York. In those days, the Mini’s were mini—about half the size of today. I drove across the country to Hollywood. Although I didn’t know anyone there, I loved the sunshine and met lots of creative people.

 

 

I found a wonderful guest house across the freeway from Universal Studios. It had a great view and a pool. The iconic Baked Potato Jazz Club was two blocks away. I was writing songs, making demos, got signed to a record company and started painting quite a bit. Because my finances were so erratic, I became a real estate agent for a few years. Later I married the man I am with today.

 

 

In the late ‘80s, Don and I moved to Gig Harbor, Washington and I began painting full-time.

 

 

It’s funny, I had a life reading by a psychic in the ‘70s. They told me that although I was then wrapped up with music, painting would be my major life focus in later years. My love of music plays out in my paintings, as rhythm and color are my two main ingredients.

 

 

I began by painting downtown night scenes and things I saw with my eyes. After a few years, I started feeling a clear connection to the spirit world. Eventually, about twenty years ago I seemed to have magnetized some beneficial invisible spirits my way. I became more interested in collaborating with them, and being OK not knowing what we were doing until it was done. I call them my Javvy Jeaners and am never bored around them. Lately we are celebrating the new frequency coming to the planet, and I am very grateful that these dear ones came aboard.

 

Ann Stockdale invites you to follow her on Instagram and Facebook.

 

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