We recently connected with Ann Hoffpauir and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Ann thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

As a young woman, I wish I had the opportunity to start painting and selling my work sooner. I was raising a family and all the responsibilities that goes with that. As my family grew I was able to have more time to concentrate on my art. My art career came much later. All this was well before the internet. My artistic ability came from observing life around me although I was drawing at a very early age. Painting came later. Oils was my prefered medium at the time. Watercolors were frustrating for me because I tried painting with them like I did with the oil paints until I learned how to use them properly. As my confidence rose in my application of watercolors and oils, my confidence rose in selling my art. Selling my art also gained art students for me that had seen my art work so I now have a studio in my home where I teach.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

For me, I think my family and friends had a great influence on me. They admired my art and that gave me inspiration to keep going and to begin selling my art. The discipline I got from drawing at an early age gave me the courage to eventually pursue a career in fine art. The practice of drawing for most of my life also helped in my learning of better compositions of my art. The knowledge I got from drawing led to painting first in oils and eventually watercolor. A lot of my art is about western animals and scenes or wildlife. That’s not to say I don’t paint still life or florals because I do paint those subjects. Word of mouth about my art helped in my starting art classes in my home. I teach oil and watercolor painting classes 3 days a week. My students are very enthusiastic about the classes. My reward is watching them have the courage to show their art to family, friends and to enter art shows. The best part is seeing their face and responce when they sell a piece of their art work. Art is a continual learning process and I will be a forever student in art.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish there were videos back in the day. As a growing artist in my earlier career, I wish I had the opportunity to actually see how professional artists painted. There were art books to learn from but it’s much better to watch an artist create his or her art.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

As an artist now I find that teaching others from basics to intermediate is very rewarding. Watching the student see the art they created and the confidence they gained from start to finish is priceless.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ArtworkbyAnn.com
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ann-Hoffpauir/260065457351951
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/ann-hoffpauir-a3735994

Image Credits
I have no image credits. I use my own photos and sketches.