San Francisco based Artist & CEO

“When bankers get together for dinner they talk about art.  When artists get together for dinner they talk about money.” Oscar Wilde

This is the truth indeed.  And this is exactly what my company’s advisory board does four times a year.

The ultimate goal is to create financial freedom.  Why? To yield the necessary ingredient for ultimate creative freedom: time.

I surround myself with those who know more than I do.  Although I’m always recruiting, I’m not accepting all applicants.

I have an impressive group of folks I am grateful to call my friends and whose experience and expertise I respect.

I may not accept every word of advice they offer, but I do listen keenly if they are all telling me the same thing.

Their support and feedback is encouraging and enlightening.  They offer me perspective that I simply cannot posses by working in complete isolation.

My Advisory Board members have each generously volunteered their time and efforts in exchange for, you guessed it, dinner and wine.

As you might imagine, the business of art is very tough.  Therefore, my ambition to take a non-traditional approach to my art business is very resolute.

I am proud to announce that Deb Connor of the Deb Connor Group, a Public Relations and Communications firm, has joined the Ann Rea, Inc. Advisory Board. Deb is dear friend and she brings years of expertise and success forming strategic partnerships and securing corporate sponsorships with luxury brands.

She is also a creative problem solver by nature and the ultimate connector creating strategic advantages for all who she involves.

Deb has already started the ball rolling. So stay tuned for new and exciting ways that I’ll be bringing people an Experience of Art and Art & Wine Pairings.

The contemporary landscape oil painting of Marin, California, that I have spent hours creating must be destroyed.   Sometimes I have to just let go.

Yes.  Even after I have labored over a large expensive canvas, used up valuable oil paint, and I’ve lived with the painting for a while, so that I can gain editorial distance, I just have to surrender it to Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction.

Why?  Because it’s not good enough!

People think I’m nuts. They ask me to give them my unsigned throwaways but that’s like asking me to print my bad rough drafts.  It is just not going to happen.

How could I do this?  Because it is never lost on me that my patrons of an Experience of Art have made a significant investment, they have an emotional attachment to the oil painting, and they will probably live with it for the rest of their lives.

So I need to bring it. I am honor bound to do my best.  It’s better to wait, invest more energy and time, and get it right.

The good news is that the bad paintings are a path to the good paintings.

Mr. Neil is giving an Experience of Art as a gift to his lovely wife.

So I have purchased a brand new 36″ x 48″ canvas, and more oil paint and supplies.  I finished the charcoal sketch late last night and today I will complete the under painting where I establish the values, light and dark of the composition.

What I present to him will be the best I can do and I can never allow it to be too precious.

Since I want them to feel it, I have to feel it.  And if I don’t, it just has to go.

In December 2005 I realized that I had nothing left to lose, so I finally decided.

I decided to  follow my dream of making and selling my art full time and I moved to my long held artistic inspiration, San Francisco.

I made a home in The Presidio of San Francisco directly across from the Pacific, less than one mile from the Golden Gate Bridge.

Over a decade before I walked across the bridge as a tourist.

I still remember looking out over the San Francisco Bay at the beautiful hilly cityscape in the distance. I just knew, it felt like home.

When I finally moved here I wanted to celebrate that moment of knowing on the Golden Gate Bridge, that feeling, and my determination.

I celebrated my new life direction by creating my first artistic series of pastels of the Golden Gate Bridge. And the series sold out quickly.

This year I  created a new series of original pastels and Exclusive Edition prints to celebrate the Golden Gate Bridge’s 75th anniversary from 1937-2012.

The official day of the 75th anniversary is May 28, the Sunday of this coming Memorial Day weekend.

Like a moth to a flame, I’m drawn to the orange vermilion of the iconic Golden Gate which glows deepest at night.

The Architect Irving Morrow selected a distinctive “International Orange” over carbon black or steel gray because it is a warm color, consistent with the adjacent warm colored landscape.

“International Orange” is also the easiest color for passing ships to spot as it is the opposite on the color wheel of the surrounding blue colors of the ocean and sky.

This recent series provides a creative challenge.  It demands an exploration of the depth of color bleeding through the dark of night.

This new series of original pastels and Exclusive Edition prints celebrates the anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge and this series honors the anchor of my heart and my home, San Francisco.

I’m in LOVE.  I’m in love with color.  If you have not already noticed, hence my tag line, Savor the Colors of the Moment.

This solid 7” glass ball sits on the center of my round dining room table.

As the sun sets over the Pacific, in the late afternoon, light streams in through my window.

As the sun lowers over the ocean, each ball of air within this solid glass orb bends the light and reflects it by spraying rainbows of color.

When I saw this glass orb I was just smitten.

Then my practical budget minded self said to the sales clerk, “Do I really need this?”  He said, “Noooo, but I have one.” I smiled and said, “I’ll take it!”

Acquiring this unnecessary but necessary object of my desire is just like buying art and much like love.

“Do I really need this?” “No, but I have one.” Why?  Because we LOVE it, and it gives us joy every day.

That is the reason to acquire art:  because you LOVE it, it makes you feel good.

Because art gives you delight or because it will give someone you LOVE delight when you give art to them.

DeLIGHT.  That’s the winged fluttery feeling we experience when we behold objects of beauty and desire.

“Do I really need this?” ” I don’t know, do you?”  I think you do.

“Imagination is more important than knowledge.” Albert Einstein.

It’s so true. Children explore and grow their imaginations through play and art education. And in our current conceptual economy it is the “right brainers that will rule the world.” *

Playing music and making art is much more than just ‘fun’ for kids – it is transformational and vital. Yet budget cuts have forced many school music programs to close, especially in schools serving low-income communities.

Little Kids Rock is a national nonprofit that transforms children’s lives by restoring and revitalizing music education in disadvantaged public schools. The rockers that support Little Kids Rock include the Black Eyed Peas, Lady Gaga, Carlos Santana, and the list goes on.

Michael Fernandez, who diligently serves on the Ann Rea, Inc. Advisory Board is the Chairman Emeritus of the Little Kids Rock

When Michael introduced me to Little Kids Rock I wanted to figure out a way to support them.

So I have three exciting announcements.

1. On Wednesday, April 18th, First Republic Bank, 750 Wines, and I will deliver an Art & Wine Pairing experience to thank the board members and the major sponsors of Little Kids Rock for their dedication and support to this worthy cause.  And the after party will include a performance of the Little Kids rocking out.

2. This marks the formal launch of my new Art & Wine Pairing Program, a way to show your appreciation by sharing a cultural experience in an intimate salon setting.  A short film by my filmmaker Dalan McNabola demonstrates this innovative concept.

3. And last but not least, I am proud to announce my first corporate sponsor, First Republic Bank.  My banker will be underwriting the Art & Wine Pairing Thank You Party on April 18th, to benefit Little Kids Rock.

I’m so excited to be combining art, wine, and philanthropy in such a fun fresh way.

Stayed tuned for more details on my new corporate sponsorship program.

*"A Whole New Mind" by Daniel Pink

Creative collaborations are so very powerful.  They are adding to the Experience of Art that I’m currently creating for Mr. and Mrs. Neil of their contemporary Marin landscape painting.

Thankfully I realize that I have some amazing and diverse creative talent in my circle.

Todd Hedgpeth, a graphic designer, Leslie Harrington, an art director and book designer, and Dalan McNabola, a filmmaker.

Being the ever industrious artist that I am, I decided to put them all to work in various creative collaborations.

I first met my graphic designer Todd Hedgpeth at a business networking breakfast.

Not only is Todd the principal of his own San Francisco based graphic design firm, TAWD Design, he is an instructor at the San Francisco Art Academy.

Todd is as passionate and as particular about design as I am about painting.  I also majored in design so I’m a tough customer but I knew that he was the man for the job of creating my graphic identity.

Leslie Harrington is an art director at a publishing house in London.  She is a dear friend and she is a sensitive and insightful book designer.

Leslie’s years of experience now benefit my patrons of an Experience of Art who get to hold a beautiful hard bound Creative Diary in their hands.

And now guests of my Art & Wine Pairings also receive a beautifully appointed wine tasting journal as a lovely lasting memento.

Filmmaker Dalan McNabola has edited three films featured at the Sundance Film Festival.

Dalan directed, filmed, and edited the short film on an Experience of Art and now we are collaborating on an interactive film on Art & Wine Pairings, so stay tuned.

These creative collaborations are so inspiring. I just love connecting with other talents and gaining their viewpoints, experience, and energy.  It makes for some serious creative mojo.

The other night I stood gazing at the full moon over the San Francisco Bay, on top of the Marin, California hills, with Mr. and Mrs. Neil with a beautiful glass of California red in our hands. We toasted to their new art collection.

Mr. Neil booked an Experience of Art of their homestead perched on top of the Marin, California hills to as a gift to Mrs. Neil to celebrate their wedding anniversary.

What a treat to be part of this kind of celebration.  They are a great couple.

Mr. and Mrs. Neil had just acquired four oil painting studies and chosen the one that would serve as the basis for their large-scale custom piece.

As we gazed at the moon, I suggested that they could look at the moon in such a way so that they would never look at it the same way.  I could change their view, shift their perception.

“Do you see the bunny rabbit on the moon? I said. “It’s sitting in profile, ears at the top, and the paws to the left.”

“Yes, I see it!” they delightfully replied.

A permanent shift in perspective, a new way of seeing, this is what I ultimately hope to create as an artist.

Each oil painting study offers the Neils a new way of experiencing a landscape that they are intimately familiar with.

That’s the power of art.  Our purpose as artists is the to shift the perception, the feelings, of the viewer, of the listener, the reader.

That I can forever, or at least for a moment, shift the perception of the viewer, this is my rewarding purpose as an artist.

"Home" Ann Rea ©, 16" x 20", oil on canvas, private collection of Kelly and Shirly Neil

Today I’m off to present the Neil Homestead collection to Mr. and Mrs. Neil, an Experience of Art to celebrate their wedding anniversary.

They live just over the Golden Gate Bridge in the rolling hills of Marin, California, a few miles away from The Presidio.

I’m bringing them 15 oil painting studies.  Each painting is precious inventory and it first must be photographed, uploaded to annrea.com, labeled, registered with the Library of Congress, and carefully packed for the trek over the Golden Gate Bridge.

Typically my patrons live in distant cities so they preview the collections of oil painting studies on annrea.com. But the Neils are just a hop, skip, and a jump away.

I wanted them to see the works in the context of where they may be living, on the walls of the beautiful custom home that Mr. Neil designed.

I know it will also help the Neils decide which oil painting study will best serve as the basis for the large custom interpretation that will be sized to fit perfectly over their stone mantel place.

So much of my time is spent alone in my studio so I look forward to the times when I finally get to share my efforts with my patrons and witness their responses.  It’s the best.

Unlike a working relationship with an art gallery or representative, I actually get to know my collectors.

Making these connections, having personal relationships with my collectors, this is the most rewarding part of being an artist.

"Lush Path" Ann Rea, 16" x 20", oil on canvas

When I create an Experience of Art for patrons at one point in the process they get to preview several oil painting studies that I created in oil, in and of the landscape of their choosing.

In this case, it is my patron’s homestead located in the rolling hills of Marin, California. There are several very different beautiful vistas, including many of San Francisco in the distance and the mountains to the West.  There is so much inspiration to choose from.

Yesterday I spoke to my patron Kelly who commissioned this an Experience of Art for his lovely wife Shirley to celebrate their seventh year wedding anniversary.

I uploaded the studies to annrea.com for them to preview.  “What do you think?” I always hold my breath a bit waiting for the answer.  Kelly’s reply. “The paintings are awesome!”  I just love it when they love it.

Now the next step is for Kelly and Shirley to choose one study to serve as the basis for a large-scale custom sized painting that will hang over their fireplace mantel.

With twelve studies to choose from this can be a bit overwhelming, even with my guidance and recommendations.

Kelly asked if I could somehow take one element from one painting study, the distant San Francisco skyline, and integrate it into another painting that has a view eclipsing the San Francisco skyline.

While I’d love to say yes, the composition of the painting would just not work because the study itself serves as the foundational framework for a larger interpretation. It’s the blueprint.

It’s a bit like being at a great new restaurant and you are eager to try everything but you must choose one meal.  Two meals will not mix well on one plate.  So most often patrons will also acquire several of the studies as appetizers.

I can appreciate, and I think it’s great, that my patron is excited to have several of the elements of his homestead represented but this would be an abstraction and I am actually a representational painter.  That means that I represent reality, not necessarily in a literal or exacting way but in its real vistas in nature inspire my canvases.

So it will be very interesting to see which study the Neil’s decide upon and they’ll have first dibs on all of the appetizers.

When I was in art school I felt like a less than capable writer.  I determined that I needed to gain more mastery over my writing skills and I enrolled in a creative writing class for extra credit.

But I struggled. Most of that struggle was rooted by my British mother’s constant insistence that Americans cannot speak or write correctly. She overlooked that she was actually speaking to an American.

My state of mind was further hampered when I confessed my struggle to my writing professor.  Her stinging response, “Ann, you are so smart.  I just don’t understand why you can’t write.”  I thought. “What? Why do you think I’m enrolled in your damn class? Help me woman.  Maybe you can’t teach!”  But I respectfully took the blow and said nothing.

Two months ago I sat with a fellow passenger on the plane returning from a press event for the new Montage Residences in Manhattan.  We passed the time by making small talk and thumbing through my first bound edition of an Artist’s Diary of Deer Valley, Utah.

Later a woman from across the aisle asked if she could see my book.  Of course I offered it to her and she returned it about an hour later with her business card.  She was the Chair of the American Literature department at Claremont Graduate University.

She asked if she could interview me for a journal that she has been editing for the past 20 years that profiles individuals’ creative processes.  Her response, “I have never met a visual artist so capable of articulating their creative process. And your work is stunning.”

Suddenly my injured confidence was fully healed. I had not realized that this inner struggle had not yet completely been resolved. How many years had I let other’s remarks choke my confidence?

I’ll let people tell me I can but I’ll never let them tell me I can’t.

• I can continue to grow my artistic enterprise and meet my goals.
• I can balance my solitary enterprise of painting with social and emotional connection to others.
• I can create an Experience of Art for my patrons in Marin, CA will be better than the last one.

I can and I will.