Meet the Artist: Annie Salness.

How does an artist get started making art?  Where do they get their inspiration?  What kind of weird things do they use to make art?  And where do they create?

Get the answers and see inside all 41 artists’ studios during the 2015 Washington County Open Studios tour October 17 and 18 from 11am to 5pm.

Here’s a quick question and answer interview with one of this year’s new artists, Annie Salness.

What kind of studio do you have?

 “My studio is in the basement but I have two windows that I open when it is nice outside. I have drawers on one side with a long counter on top of it. The counter top is waist high and I can use it for standing up when I work. I have a computer on my desk where I do business/marketing things and where I have Photoshop and the pictures I am going to paint.  I have two easels and two rolling tables where I put my palette or what I am using to work. I have two big cupboards; one has my art books and one has still life in it. My friend built me a large vertical art file to store my panels that I paint on.  

I get up early to work when everyone else is asleep. Of course, I can hear everything that goes on upstairs!  I have my favorite colors on the wall. I have my bulletin boards where I can put things.”

 

When you begin your work, what inspires you and/or gets you going?
“I always start out drawing; this warms me up. Because of my stroke, my right hand doesn't work anymore and so I have to train my left hand. I have a 24 x18 newsprint paper and I start with a page of lines: up, down, across, diagonally and then circles. Then I draw anything around my studio, or the image I am going to paint, or I look on the internet to draw figures. I like New Masters Academy on YouTube for drawing figures.

I look at all the artists who inspire me! Maybe their subject matter, colors they used, application. I get so many ideas!”

How did you find your way to art in spite of any obstacles in your path?

“At 46 years old, I had a debilitating stroke that paralyzed the right side of my body including my painting hand. I was in the hospital for a month and  I came home in a wheel chair. I couldn't speak for two weeks; I could think of what to say, but my words didn't come out. That was so hard. Even writing...I had to ask my daughter how to spell "the"! Answering emails, posting to Facebook, etc., took a long time. I have to read everything a couple of times. The physical aspect of it, I started to work out as soon as I could: walking, lifting weights, "swimming", and I started to draw and paint with my left hand, which it is so important that I draw all the time.

It has been several years since my stroke, and it is still very hard, but I am able to get by and I keep getting better.”

What odd, weird different material or technique do you use and how does it inspire you?

“I use salvaged wood because I like the roughness and the unpredictability.  I love mixed-media with all the variety and again, unpredictability.”

When people come to your studio, what will they see you doing as part of the process?

“I will have my start up drawings set up and I will have my process set up.”

Meet Annie and all the other artists October 17 and 18 from 11am to 5pm during the Washington County Open Studios tour.  Get a FREE tour map and information online at www.washcoart.org