Anne began painting in 1998, as a busy full-time Mum to four children. She paints in both pastel and oil from her home studio in Cooroy, Sunshine Coast, Queensland.
Artist Statement – “I paint in response to an emotional connection to my subject. I delight in the beauty of nature, be it the rugged beauty of the bush or the delicacy of a flower. I paint predominantly with soft pastel, as I enjoy the immediacy and vibrancy of this medium. I enjoy capturing the contrasting variety of colour, texture and form in the landscape and the illuminating power of sunlight.”
Anne has attended classes and workshops with many highly regarded Australian and International tutors. In recognition of her skills in 2014, the Pastel Society of Australia awarded Anne the esteemed title of Master Pastellist. In June 2015, to continue her professional development Anne attended the International Association of Pastel Societies Convention in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In November 2016 Anne attended a 4 week portrait painting workshop in Launceston with Martinho Correia, studying the techniques of the old masters in pencil, charcoal and oils. Martinho teaches at the Angel Academy of Fine Art in Florence.
Anne enjoys outdoor plein air painting where she can connect with the environment using all senses, not just the physical but emotional as well. This combined with a love of adventure and travel has led Anne to paint overseas in New Zealand, USA, Spain and Portugal to date.
In 2015 Anne visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Musee d’Orsay and Musee de l’Orangerie, Paris; Claude Monet’s House and Garden in Giverny; Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Sorolla Museum and Prado Museum, Madrid, and the Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon. Anne found it an incredible experience to study artworks dating from 1300 onwards through to the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist periods. The pastel paintings of Edgar Degas, Mary Cassatt, Maurice Quentin La-Tour and oil paintings of the French Impressionists, Spanish painters Joaquin Sorolla, Vincente Lopez to name but a few, Anne particularly enjoyed.
Anne is a member of the Pastel Society of Australia. Anne conducts public painting demonstrations and teaching workshops in the pastel medium and has commenced a weekly pastel painting class in Cooroy. Anne regularly exhibits with the Pastel Society of Australia, Kenilworth Celebrates art show. Anne’s paintings are represented at the Montville Art Gallery, Main St Montville, Qld. Anne has won many awards over the years.
Anne’s website: www.anneyang.com.au
