Anna MacInnes

Anna began the habit of constantly carrying a sketchbook at school recording every detail of her surroundings – whether in galleries, the landscape, or just a table of food and people at lunch. This has led to shelves of journal-like sketchbooks, each recalling a separate journey or time such as months in Egypt or Zambia, Botswana and Namibia.

The main body of Annas work focus on the ever-changing horizons of sea scapes, to which she is exposed on the Isle of Wight, the incredible depths of colour that shift in seconds and the many different moods evoked by changing weather conditions. She begins working by sketching in pencil, using textural marks to depict various tones and colours. The canvases are always painted away from the subject allowing full exploration of the surface quality and expression of the paint itself.

At university Anna obtained studied Art History at the University of Edinburgh and La Sorbonne. She then worked for Sotheby’s in Hong Kong for six months, cataloguing the influx of Chinese ceramics before the hand-over of the Island to China. After this Anna returned to Sotheby’s in London for another six months before leaving for New York to train as a trompe l’oeil artist. Finally, giving in to the desire to just simply paint, Anna returned to her home on the Isle of Wight where she finds her inspiration.

Anna’s last major exhibition was in Pimlico, London, based on her travels in India it was a fusion of authentic Indian pigments, ink and gilding. Since then she has concentrated more on her pen and ink drawings, painting house and church portraits, and returning to the simplicity of line to capture the landscape of the isle of wight.

Anna can be contacted on 0781 1104057