Meet Anna Thane

We recently connected with Anna Thane and have shared our conversation below.

Anna, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.

I actually think I developed my confidence and self-esteem when my husband and I moved to Los Angeles when I was about 29. I’ve always kind of done my own thing, in terms of the art I create, the career paths I choose, fashion choices, etc, but I never felt totally comfortable or confident in what I was doing. After we moved to LA, I started meeting all sorts of different types of people and found it so easy to get to know them and let them in to my life. I didn’t feel like I was being judged. There is a genuine curiosity that people living in LA have, which I think stems from the fact that it’s all about connections, and you just never know who you’re going to meet and how they could impact your life. But that’s only the surface. Beneath that seemingly self-serving curiosity lies an opportunity for friendship, partnership, and family. I felt that I was being embraced and encouraged to be myself and to keep developing my skills, and that was a huge boost to my confidence and self-esteem. I’ve always been my toughest critic, but being part of that community really helped me to just keep doing what I do and continue to grow and learn, and instead of comparing myself to others – to learn from them.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I’m an artist. I create things that I want to look at. I work full time as a marketing professional within a large global real estate brand, so I have to adhere to pretty strict brand guidelines, but I love to customize materials to suit the needs of our clients on a local level, while still coloring within the lines, so to speak. I actually love rules, they make life easy, and I think you really have to understand the rules before you can break them, so working for a brand with such strict rules is a fun challenge. I am constantly having to ask myself how I can bend the rules to create materials my clients are not only going to love, but most importantly, use. I find that same idea applies to the art I create outside of work as well. I will only ever paint something I enjoy painting; something I would hang on my walls at home and get to look at on a regular basis, but it does need to speak to a broader audience if I want to sell it. I can pour my heart out on a canvas but if it only speaks to me, it’s never going to leave my house. So rather than telling a specific story with my art, I like to invoke an emotion or a feeling or a sense of something that is just off the canvas.

Last year I partnered with Montanans For Choice to help with their rebrand. This included artwork for their website as well as a billboard campaign. I think we ended up with 14 billboards across Montana, which just absolutely delights me. We have new work in progress as well, so I’m excited to see how it all comes together.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

First, and I think most importantly, don’t be afraid to suck. Just start doing whatever it is you want to do. Want to sew a pair of pants? Sew a pair of pants! Who cares if they don’t fit right, you will inevitably learn something along the way. Maybe you’ll learn what you did wrong and will try again, or maybe you’ll learn that sewing is not for you and you’ll move on. Either way, don’t be afraid of creating something that isn’t perfect. I’ve tried and failed so many times I’ve lost count. I’ve continued with the things that bring me joy and quit the things that don’t.

Second, being self-taught goes a long way and can certainly get the job done, but I do think it’s important to learn from others. Whether that other person is a professional or just someone who you think does it better than you, listen to what they are willing to teach you. Watch tutorials, take classes, read books, watch instructional Instagram Reels. Let others teach you.

Third, be true to yourself.

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?

The number one challenge I am currently facing is finding, or making, the time to create and feel creative. I work full time, I have an endless amount of house projects that I can and should be doing, I’m trying to focus on my physical and mental health, I mean…there just aren’t enough hours in the day! How does anyone do it?! I’m trying to be deliberate in carving out time for myself in the areas of my life that I want to improve, and that does include time to be creative and stink up my studio with the smell of linseed oil. I would love to create and sell more of my artwork, and I have actually found pretty good success since moving back to Montana. But I need to be more diligent about making it a priority.

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