We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Anna Pearson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Anna, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you wish you had started sooner?

I believe that everything happens at the right time. I do think though that if I gave it a go right after school I could be way further ahead now. So many misconceptions about the artist profession! I myself was under the impression that it’s impossible to earn enough as a creative. You know, this “starving artist” stereotype. This is not true, you can be very successful financially along with creative independence. I would even say that the more you are creatively independent with your own unique and bold style that sets you apart from others the higher your chances for success. But back to the point: I started my artistic career pretty late, only after moving to the US and even though I wish I started earlier I also think there’s no such thing as “too late”. So if whoever is out there reading this thinks it’s too late for them to start, trust me, it’s not! Even more so, I believe that all my previous life experiences helped me to find my artistic language and my audience because I actually have something to share.

Anna, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I was born and raised in Ukraine, lived most of my life there going through all the hardships as my country broke away from the empire and became independent. Getting your freedom is never easy, but always worth it, no matter if we’re talking about a country or a person. For me it was a bit extra hard, because my coming of age was right around the time of big changes in society plus my mom was raising me by herself. Hard times build character (even though I wish I’d rather built up my portfolio or a financial capital instead) and teach you to be creative for sure. For example, in high school I taught myself how to sew so I could refashion some of my mom’s old clothes simply because I had nothing to wear. But when it was time to decide what to do with life, my upbringing played a bad joke on me, turning me away from my passion and calling since the early days – art. I thought I needed a “real” job, something that’d bring me stability and financial freedom. So I ended up in sales and worked many years for corporations pushing their goods to retailers and final customers. I had a successful career going when life took another unexpected turn and I ended up in the US. This is when I started drawing again. I believe it’s very important for any creative to get outside of their personal bubble and start showing their work to the public. That is exactly what I did: shared my art on social media and soon after got my first commissioned work. But my big launch as an artist happened a bit later, when I got my first mural job. I’m forever thankful to Leslie Randall, my artistic “fairy godmother” who entrusted me with a huge project in one of the local malls. I had no idea what I was doing and learned as I went along with the job. It turned out good and I got more work thanks to this. It was a fantastic learning experience as well as a confidence booster for me. This is when I realized I can actually make a living off my skills. My art career was a leap of faith plus dumb luck plus hard work, but the biggest challenge was to actually allow myself to do it, to pick up a pencil and make a first step towards my dream so late in life. What sets me apart from others is my versatility, attention to details and slightly compulsive perfectionism. I want every element of my composition to be just so and often spend an extra amount of time achieving the exact look I was going for. It may not be as good for business because it definitely takes longer, but this way we both – my client and I – know what we are getting at the end. I know a lot of artists that just freehand their pieces, my process involves a lot of careful planning and sketching. But usually it pays off for me with the amount of satisfaction I get looking at the final result.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

In times of overconsumption and fast living we often fall victim to trends, opting for instant generic items that the mass market offers. Lack of general education only promotes bad taste, I’m afraid. To have a trained eye, to understand art you need to know the background of it. In my opinion, only being exposed to art from a young age can develop sensitivity to it and actually ability to enjoy it. Sadly, I hear that a lot of schools cut on their art programs thus contributing even more to this problem. It may sound dramatic, but I think we do have a problem as a society. Brands and corporations who seemingly intend to popularize art often opt for easy understandable mediocrity for its commercial appeal and a snake bites its own tail enclosing the vicious circle of vulgarity and kitsch. That’s why I’m glad to see the rise of vintage and sustainable approach to living. We need to be mindful about what we surround ourselves with and what we spend our money on. I would recommend to anyone to go check their local art museum for starters. Would be fantastic to do it with a guide, but if this is not an option, just make sure you have enough time to slowly make your way through the collection reflecting on pieces that somehow “spoke” to you. Ask yourself what was so special about those pieces, what made you resonate with them, learn about the style and the artists, check similar artworks from that period. Start your own small collection of original art, check out local art fairs and galleries – almost always there will be something for every pocket. And, of course, if you have creative friends, talk about them, help to spread the word.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I have a few goals as an artist: first it is to educate my audience about art. I often share some artists and their work that I personally find fascinating and inspiring on my social media. Like I keep saying, good taste is a skill, trainable skill. The more we know about different styles in art and various artists the better and deeper we can understand art and be more open to new ideas. Plus I think you can understand yourself better through art perception. Somehow we can figure out what kind of music we like the most, right? The same should be with visual art, but for that we need to see more of it, know more, look beyond the surface. My second goal is to inspire others to give art a try. Usually those who held a paint brush at least once in their life will never say looking at the painting “my 5 yo/dog/grandma could do a better job”. We need more creativity, more color, more diversity! I love to host in person classes where I teach some basic acrylic techniques and every time I’m amazed by how different each participant’s artworks are. Everyone already has their own unique style just like we all have a personality. There is no better reward for me than receiving messages from people who started drawing inspired by my example.
And last, but not least is to fiercely fight that nasty “starving artist” stereotype. No, you don’t need to be hungry and/or miserable to create. Inspiration comes from many aspects of everyday life, and I’m more than certain that the experiences we all have as human beings are the key moment of creativity. When you are sincere in your attempt to tell a certain story with your art, the success will not take long.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://pannaarts.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p.anna_arts/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100078375153898

Image Credits
Images are mine.