May Featured Artist, Anne Rowan

May’s Featured Artist is Anne Rowan, an artist who specializes in capturing nature on canvas through oil and acrylic. She is a mainly self-taught artist, who recently moved to Brantford during the pandemic and was delighted to discover such a vibrant artist community.

Rowan says, “I have always been drawn to the aesthetics in wildlife and nature and discovering my ability to translate the wonder and beauty to canvas is all inspiring.” Art is ever-evolving and to keep up with her trade, Rowan continues to develop her craft by studying new mediums. Currently, she is studying Open Impressionism. This form is best described as abstracted, contemporary impressionism and the brush strokes are loose and expressive. Rowan adds, “I’m working on a landscape from Nova Scotia right now and pursuing painting animals, inspired by my own pets.”

After a long hiatus, Anne started to paint again about seven years ago after taking old masters art classes at the Paul Richard James Atelier. Rowan says, “I feel that I am finally at a good place where I have given myself permission to pursue my craft as a full-time endeavor and feel at peace with this. It has been a lifelong journey to get to this point in my life and it is liberating!”

Rowan enjoys listening to female-led podcasts about struggling entrepreneurs and she feels inspired by their stories and advice. When asked what tip(s) she has for developing artists, Rowan says “keep painting and creating. My goal is to do one painting a week. Don’t give up. Follow your dreams. It’s never too late to start creating.”

When she’s not painting, Rowan can be found hiking on Brantford’s amazing trails or kayaking the Grand River. You can also follow her on Instagram at @annem.rowan.