Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Anna Richards. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Anna, so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.
I believe creativity exists within everyone, we just use it in different ways that are not always so obvious. I feel like I have been an artist all my life, but I have only been making art since I was 18. I was a pretty shy person, which made me have to be very creative in how I navigated life. I also have a pretty wild imagination (I’m a Pisces) and always felt like I was living in another world. When I dropped out of college at 19, it felt like I was living a different life than most of my friends. I started painting everyday on my parents back porch because I didn’t really know what else to do. It was one of the most creative periods of my life, even though I felt so lost. I was consuming every piece of art I could find, music, films, art books, I wanted to learn from every artists in history.
So when the 2020 pandemic hit, I found myself in a very similar situation while being stuck at home. I naturally went back into that place of painting every day. I created my first body of work and hosted an art show on my front porch. During this time I really learned about my creative practice, it’s not something that I can turn on like a switch, but something that emerges when I give it the space to run free. I learned that in order to create that space, I needed to give it a designated time and space and go in with no expectations. I needed to feed it, like a plant, watering my creativity with inspiration from music, films, and every day life. I think of my creativity of this force that lives on it’s own, within me, and it’s my job to cultivate it and give it the time and space to express its self.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I’m an abstract painter and mixed media artist based in Macon, GA. My art keeps evolving every year, this past year I have been exploring the meaning of objects and how they can be used and transformed to express different ideas. I have been really drawn to elevating aspects of life that often go overlooked or unnoticed. One of my most recent exhibitions focused on my experience of being an administrative assistant for 10 years. By using office supplies, products associated with femininity, and transparent materials, I explored how that role in an office is often overlooked, almost always a female, and the dated expectations that position carries.
I have always been drawn to abstraction because of the many interpretations viewers can draw from it. I love the ability to transform a subject and I always feel like a part of my own transformation as an artist and human occurs with every piece. Coming up this year in 2024, I plan to continue exploring the use of non-traditional art materials and focusing on subjects of freedom and transformation.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I think being fearless, as corny as it may sound, is so important. Especially being naturally shy, I learned that if I was afraid of something then it’s probably something I really need to do. I worked through this a lot with my work as well. If i was afraid of messing up a painting, I would force myself to paint over it. This practice of fearlessness and non-attachment has helped me so much with making decisions and moving my life and practice forward.
Openness is another quality that has really helped me in so many ways. Once I figured out that letting go of any expectations, my work started getting a lot better and a lot more enjoyable to make. I see make art as a co-creating with the materials. I may try to do something and then the painting once to do something else. It’s all about listening and responding and letting go of what I think it is suppose to look like and letting it unfold on it’s own.
And then always be learning and growing. The truth is we will never have it all figured out, and the minute that we think we do, life usually laughs in our face. I’m always looking to learn, try new things, and evolve.
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
The Artist Way really changed my life and revealed so much about the ways I was holding myself back. As someone who is sober, I appreciate how the book puts you on a 12 step journey to uncovering yourself as an artist. It helped me gain the confidence to really see myself as an artist.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.annarichardsart.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annarichards.art
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annarichards.art
