This month we meet another artist from the beautiful False Bay area! Anni’s work is characterised by luminous alive eyes rendered with so much love.
Growing up Anni have always used art (and books) as a way of escaping.
“I am blessedly self taught and spent many many years doing large commissioned oil paintings and wall murals, whilst holding down a full time job as a paralegal to a criminal law firm. After my kids were born, I promptly threw that stressful career aside and decided to pursue the more calm, creative side where I could work from home and still be with the children. I felt the need to “fine tune” my artistic talent, so I enrolled in a painting and drawing course with the London Art College in the UK hoping to pursue children illustrations.”
Anni knew how to sketch and paint, but admits to having no idea how to draw.
“I completed this course with a top distinction, and fell in love with the technical side of drawing – that being pen and ink, and graphite. I know to some people graphite might seem a bit “boring” to work solely in grey scale, but graphite brings its own set of challenges – mastering form, tonal values as well as light and dark. Moods and tones can be conveyed very successfully using only one basic color – grey. Its this simplicity of it that I like and the challenge of bringing an image to life with just one color. “
Anni lives at the foot of the Helderberg Mountains in the lush green leafy suburb of Somerset West, Western Cape. She works from her ‘humble little studio’ at home. Surrounded by the incredible beauty of the Helderberg mountains and surrounding vineyards, she is inspired and motivated each day by the blessings of the surrounding nature and fellow artists.
“I love drawing anything that represents natural purity and innocence. Pets, in particularly dogs, and especially dogs up for adoption at animal rescue shelters, inspire me to capture their expression in portrait sketches – their hope on their faces, their souls in their eyes, their desperation for love. Young children with their pets is another firm favourite of mine – a subject I will be pursuing more vehemently in future. I want people to “feel” when they look at my drawings, not just “see”. So I focus on what I feel myself and try to convey it in my drawing for all others to see and feel too.”
Anni prefers heavily textured paper when doing these sketches and instead on focusing on details, focuses more on tonal value, creating an almost impressionistic effect.
I have tried all pencils but my personal favorite are the Monte Marte graphite pencils. Depending on what I am drawing I will use either the textured Fabriano 200gsm or the Hot Pressed water color paper of 300gsm for my bigger more realistic pieces. The one thing I honestly could not do without is my Tombow Mono Precision eraser pen.
I ask Anni what advice she’d give a young artist and she responds quite candidly.
“Being an artist is hard, its not easy. Its many days of work (whether it be the creating or marketing), and finding inspiration and motivation from the world around us. Artists need to delve deep into their hearts, souls and minds, and it can be a very lonely venture. Some of us have it in us, to keep on creating, keep on producing, keep on keeping on in a crazy frenzy to leave a legacy behind to get our message across, whatever message that might be. At the end of the day, our art, our creation, is not just ‘someones art’. It is an expression of feelings and a look into our own inner world. Its a piece of us. Its our life’s work.”
And this bit, I just love!
“Don’t be an artist for fame and fortune, be an artist for your passion to create. Don’t draw or paint something that you think will sell – draw or paint what YOU want to do. Let the world see you in your art – and everything else will eventually fall into place. It takes time… a long long time. Have patience. Enjoy your creation and the moment of creating. If its what you want to do and be, it’ll all work out in the end because then it is your calling.”
Anni believes South African artists are the most talented individuals in the world!
“I would love it if South African art could be marketed more globally, giving us as artists wider broader exposure. We come from a very colourful nation, with an equally “colourful” background. Our art has so many stories to tell and I think the rest of the world underestimates the culturally driven society that we are!”
As always I also ask Anni about her artistic dream, what she aspires to.
“I don’t really have a dream as an artist, as I am so blessed to be living my dream right now being an artist. My proudest moments are not the exhibitions I have had, or gaining a top distinction alongside mind-blowing talented individuals at the London Art College, but the tears and the emotion I see reflected in someone’s eyes when I hand them their commissioned pet portrait or drawing. That is and will always be my proudest moment.’
And Anni’s favourite drawing she’s done?
“My favorite drawing of all time, the horses. The spirit, their movement, the flow, their energy. Such lovely animals they are and to capture it as a herd running freely like all spirits should be, I loved doing that one.”
Its safe to say that Anni lives her dream passionately – her love and excitement shines through in her words and drawings and I for one, look forward to what she presents in years to come.
And her parting words echo in my mind: “I just wish I had more time to create create create…”
- Anni Angus
- @anniangusart
- www.anniangus.com
