Confucius said, “Man who chases two rabbits catches none.”

This wisdom has been ringing in my head since Christmas, when I began creating a guided 8-week online business course for artists called, “Making Art/Making Money.” This ambitious project is one fast rabbit.

The other rabbit is my fine art enterprise. Obviously, my painting is near and dear to my heart.

Trying to balance both races has been a tiring battle. Since I don’t have four legs to run in two directions, I’m putting my fine art enterprise on a partial hold until “Making Art/Making Money” is launched and my new book “101 Rules of Selling Art” is released.

After serious soul searching and distance from my painting I’ve realized that my painting has not been reflecting my interests and higher values around mindfulness and consciousness.

So when I return to my art full time I will be embarking on yet a new project and body of work that will be the focus of a clinical study designed by a leading authority in the field of neuro-feedback, Dr. Thomas Browne.

Dr. Browne has designed a clinical study that will measure the neuro and physiological responses of subjects to my contemplative contemporary still life paintings.

When I moved to San Francisco in 2006 I knew that I have to be prolific in order to thrive. So I began neuro-feedback with Dr. Browne to obtain optimal states of performance. It rid me of all creative blocks.

Neuro-feedback is an area of brain science that is essentially medically aided meditation that places me into a lasting state of focused calm, but it’s not meditation.

So it’s no accident, that collectors remark consistently that my paintings make them feel happy and calm.

I’m inspired to investigate these emotional responses triggered by a heightened state of consciousness reflected in my paintings.

My intention is to build a bridge between art and science. When the study is complete, Dr. Browne and I will be conducting “Art & Science Salons.”

If you are interested in volunteering to be a subject for the “Art & Science” study, please reply today.

Art changes the energy of a room by making a specific emotional and aesthetic statement.

People may not even be fully conscious of how art is creating a vibe in a room but it is happening.

Much like how wearing one outfit can make you feel one way, put on another outfit and you experience another perception of yourself.

When the Four Seasons of Silicon Valley graciously invited me to collaborate and feature my work in their stunning lobby I wanted to produce the very best opportunity for my company and the Four Seasons. So I developed a creative strategy for that specific space.

I got to know the professional staff, I visited and filmed the lobby space, studied their unique warm contemporary aesthetic, and I examined the original floor plans and elevations of the thoughtful and beautiful architecture of the Four Seasons of Silicon Valley property.

I’m always interested in challenging myself creatively. Therefore, I am intentionally departing from my typical color saturated palette that is expected and I am creating three minimal monochromatic paintings. This triptych will be painted on wood panel versus stretched canvas.

Each custom sized wood panel is made from FSC certified sustainable forest products made with conservator wood materials and sealing processes.

I deliberately approach oil painting so that I have the least environmental impact. I do not use any toxic mixing mediums, turpentine or varnishes, just pure pigment and linseed oil. It’s a much more expensive approach to oil painting but it is the cleanest.

This custom art installation is inspired by three vineyard images from Howell Mountain, Napa Valley, and Sonoma designed to celebrate each American Viticulture Area (AVA) and to highlight the Art & Wine Pairing program that available at the Four Seasons.

The installation is currently scheduled for the end of June.

Isn’t it time to celebrate with an intimate group of friends or your very best clients? Make memorable connections through inspiring conversations.

Learn about art and wine in a relaxed and fresh way.  Book an Art & Wine Pairing available at the Four Seasons of Silicon Valley.

I am trilled to announce my latest strategic partnership with Bardessono, a boutique hotel in Yountville, California.

If you have not stayed there, make a reservation. It is green, luxurious, and such a peaceful sanctuary.

Bardessono’s aesthetic and values line up beautifully with my business enterprise. They are a significant national model of green building and operating practices. I think Bardessono is the most stunning property in Napa Valley and it is a LEED Platinum Certified.  I would love for my home to reflect Bardessono’s aesthetics and art collection.

I will be teaming up with Brett Fallows, Bardessono’s Sommelier, to deliver my Art & Wine Pairing program to their group guests.

The Art & Wine Pairing Program is perfect for:

• client retention strategy, thanking existing top clients
• partner “edutainment” program
• meeting break out session
• team building strategy
• before dinner activity
• reception activity
• celebration activity

Like Bardessono I am conscious of the environmental impact of my business.

I started using the greenest approach to oil painting possible several years ago. So this is not a post attempting to “green wash” my paintings.

My oil painting technique is a very pricy approach but I think that my collectors deserve it.

I do not use Turpentine, varnish, or any other nasty mixing mediums, just pure pigment and linseed oil.  With pure oils my color can be more saturated.

I did this for health reasons. Long exposure to traditionally oil painting medium is toxic and requires excellent ventilation. I did not have this in art school so I walked around with a rash on my neck and I couldn’t stand oil painting.  Who knew then that would all change?

So now I paint with vinyl gloves so that the paint does not make contact with my skin.  Much of the toxicity from oil painting comes from cleaning brushes.  I buy cheep brushes and toss them, I use a palette knife, and gloves protect my skin. I’d rather spend my time sketching an painting than cleaning brushes. Let’s be real, there’s still an environmental impact but I try to lesson it as much as possible.

Four Seasons Hotel Silicon Valley has partnered with San Francisco artist Ann Rea to launch an Art and Wine Pairing Program. By reviving the art of conversation, the collaboration will provide a fresh alternative to traditional wine tastings, ordinary client dinners and themed parties.

By drawing upon the traditional of the salon, intimate groups are invited to relax, and explore the art of conversation with Rea, complemented by wine pairings and dialogue with Quattro’s General Manager and Sommelier Annie Rose Chung. The program pairs one wine with one painting – engaging the sommelier and attendees in conversation about the wine. The artist, Rea, then teaches the group how to look at the painting through the artist’s eyes.

Director of Marketing Doug Kaminski says of the collaboration, “We are excited to bring a fresh and unique opportunity to our meetings and special events program. Through creativity, conversation and a personal connection, this exclusive offering allows corporations or nonprofit organizations a meaningful opportunity to thank top-tier patrons, or engage new ones.”

The Art and Wine Program can be offered as an enhancement to catered meetings and events at Four Seasons Hotel Silicon Valley or booked as a special event. For additional information, please contact Nicole Neal at 1 (650) 470-2810.

Standing in my San Francisco Pacific beach art studio with my patron and her painting draped behind black velvet, I could feel her anticipation.

I unveiled the large canvas and she stood silent. I wondered.  “Uh oh. Does she like it?” So I had to ask, “So, what do you think?”

She paused, her eyes then welling with tears, she said, “I love it.  I love it so so much.” Which to my delight, she repeated several more times.

She also said, “I’m so glad that we had a private unveiling.  I don’t understand why I am so emotional.” But I knew why.

This is the power of art. I crafted this series of the Russian River in Healdsburg, California, with the full intention of celebrating a place that holds her dearest family memories. She has many memories that have floated down this ever changing Russian River and I wanted to capture the essence of this in her oil painting.

When something is made by hand it feels different. It carries the artist’s energy and personal attention, that is what ignites a response in the viewer. One who pauses long enough to look, to really look.

Because there is only one original she has ordered several copies of the Creative Diary to share with her family and friends.  My hope is that this storybook will rekindle their memories and deepen their appreciation for this very special place.

The river is symbolic for our ever-changing lives and it reflects the seasons with color.

When I witness a patron’s deep emotional response from an Experience of Art, I receive the ultimate reward for the hard work I dedicate to making art.  And it makes the sacrifices all worth it.

I’m featured on this week’s episode of the Good Life Project.

Dear Good Lifer!

So excited to be sharing the first in a series of episodes filmed around the famed Bay Area in northern California.

San Francisco painter, Ann Rea, was deep in a hole. Depressed, anxious, working in a career that was leaving her empty and heavily medicated, she turned to painting as therapy. And everything changed.

What started as a return to sanity grew into a salvation and a calling. But to turn it into a living, Ann came face-to-face with the “gallery system.” Something in her gut told her it was not for her. Too little control and power.

So, she decided to do what everyone else said was un-doable. She went around the system and created her own path to become a successful painter, entrepreneur and now mentor to other artists trying to do the same.

In this week’s episode of Good Life Project, we dive deep into her journey.

Click here to watch it now>>>

If you’ve got any artist friends who are trying to figure out how to make a living, be sure to share Ann’s inspired story with them.

With gratitude,

Jonathan

I had the good fortune to be interviewed again by Jonathan Fields for his Good Life Project this Sunday.

The Good Life Project is an impactful web TV show with a meaningful and authentic series of interviews with individuals who are deliberately creating a good life for themselves and others.

Jonathan Fields is a speaker and author of Uncertainty, Turning Fear and Doubt into Fuel for Brilliance, and Career Renegade, How to make a Great Living doing what you Love, published by Random House.

Before my interview I was sitting with my friend John sipping chai at Somovar in San Francisco.

“I really appreciate the opportunity to work with Jonathan again, (I was featured in Career Renegade) and I feel honored to be in the company of everyone interviewed for the Good Life Project.” I shared.

“What’s Jonathan’s criteria for Good Life Project profiles?” John asked. “I’m not sure, I’ll shoot him an email now.”

“I’m sitting here at Somovar with my friend John discussing you Good Life Project and we were pondering what specific criteria you use to determine if someone is living a good life.”

Jonathan bounced a reply right back and he basically said that he is exploring what makes a “good life” by asking others along the way. He had no specific criteria. That’s why it’s a project.

What makes a good life? What a fascinating subject to pursue!

After my Good Life Project interview with Jonathan I sat down to dinner with him and some of the other inspiring thought leaders he interviewed.

I was impressed by the company and appreciated the opportunity to have a seat at the table with them.

• Leo Babauta
• Scott Dinsmore
• Jesse Jacobs
• Lissa Rankin

As we conversed I began reflecting upon what each of us at the table had in common.

What I noticed was that each person arrived at a life crisis but then they turned it around.

How?  They simply asked “why?”  “Why” am I living this way?  And “why not” live another way.

What I know has made a good life for me is that I am following my passions and I feel that I am contributing by creating value for other people’s lives.

I appreciate my life so very much even more today because it was not always good.  Once ridden with anxiety, depressed, and directionless I too journey from a complete place of crisis to my current very good life as a successful artist.

If I had to point to one simple formula that kick started positive change in my life it was simply examining my assumptions, expectations, the rules, and routines I was living.

Then asking “why”, shortly followed by “why not.”  Why not make it better, why not live a good life?  That is when the journey began.

"Still Water" Ann Rea, under painting, 36" x 48"

What is the color of water?  It’s the color created from reflections.

The color of water is the light of the sky reflecting down, the light from the bottom of the river reflecting up, and all of the light bouncing within the surrounding environment.

Our mood shifts near bodies of water. The color of water is a multifaceted reflection drawing people to stop for a moment and calmly contemplate.

City planners have always known this about water. This is why they include water elements and fountains throughout urban environments. City dwellers naturally gather around them and are stilled for a moment.

This newest series of the Russian River is an Experience of Art for a patron who owns a beautiful ranch in Healdsburg, California.

I could have chosen any number of vistas throughout this hilly ranch but it is the shore of the Russian River that holds her countless memories of family and friends.

Just standing in a place can bring us back to the energy of another chapter in our lives and the feelings contained within.

This patron chose “Still Water” a 16” x 20” study in oils as the basis for her 36” x 48” custom sized painting, currently drying behind me on my easel.

Ironically it was the very first study I painted within this collection. I created it while she was wading along the water.  I would not let her watch me paint, that would have be too nerve racking.

It is the entire creative process that an Experience of Art requires.  I am committed to a full creative investigation so that I know I’m offering enough choices to provide very best options to my patrons.  Because ultimately my painting is not for me it is for my collectors.

When the royal Hindu Majapahit Empire fled Java and founded their colony in Bali in 1343 they took two groups with them:

1.  the priests

2.  the artists

Why did the artists matter? So that their culture could survive.  Culture and history are a few reasons art mattered then and still matters now.

And art matters because we live in a conceptual economy requiring innovation. Innovation is born of imagination developed through emotional artistic expression, not only math and science.

A perfect example of artist turned innovator is Steve Jobs, a college drop out whose main course of study was calligraphy and who was smitten with the Japanese Zen aesthetic so beautifully reflected in Apple’s products and retail design.

Art also saves lives. As a troubled teen I was able to channel my feelings into my art.  If I had not had this outlet I am certain my troubles would have led to self-destructive behavior. Instead, through art I maintained self-discipline and a positive focus.

I just had the honor of speaking with Taboo of The Black Eyed Peas at Little Kids Rock’s10 Year Anniversary Gala at Face Book’s new headquarters.  We talked about the vital importance of music and art.

Regardless of whether or not students become rock stars or nationally recognized artists, if they can command the stage they can command the boardroom, and if they can conceive of a painting they can imagine products and ideas and bring them into physical form.

And here’s another interesting statistic, kids who play an instrument are 52% more likely to go to college.

I am very proud to call Michael Fernandez, co-founder of Little Kids Rock, my friend and I am honored and privileged to have him as an active member of the Ann Rea, Inc. Advisory Board.

Millions of kids in the US receive no music or art education at school. Little Kids Rock provides free instruments and lessons to kids in low-income communities and teaches kids the musical styles they love. I urge you to support Little Kids Rock.

A few years ago I sat across from Bob Proctor, a personal development guru and host of the movie The Secret, the Law of Attraction.

As we sat enjoying dinner in his home with his family he suddenly changed the course of conversation and remarked, “Ann, you don’t want to sell paintings.”

“Bob, what are you talking about?  Of course I do.”

I was flown to Toronto to paint Bob’s garden for his surprise 70th birthday present.

His lovely wife Linda picked me up from the airport.  He was being fed hints about his surprise, so when we arrived Bob was sitting in his home office and he was actually watching me on the Fine Living Channel via You Tube.

I walked into his office and introduced myself by saying, “Happy Birthday Bob, my name is Ann Rea and I am here to paint your garden for your birthday!”

He was startled and delighted.  “You are my surprise?”

“Kind of!  Let’s go outside and look at your beautiful garden.” As we walked around and noticed the flowers and the trees as he shared his stories of this place so dear to him.

During the days that I was there sketching and painting outside, Bob was coaching Ellen DeGeneres and her production team to beat Oprah’s ratings.  Which she did.

So I listened to Bob when he answered my question at dinner, “No, you don’t want to sell paintings.  You want to offer the experience that you gave me. Do you know what it has been like to break bread with you, get to know you, have you get to know me and my family, stroll through my garden with you, see your charcoal sketches on my kitchen table, peek through the window and watch you paint?”

“Of all of the art I own, what do you think I will speak of the most?  What art do you think will hold the most meaning, the most heart felt memory? It is this experience that you want to offer.”

Since Ellen was consulting with him, I obviously listened and eventually created an Experience of Art.

Now I’m proud to announce that I will be working with Peek, a new online travel discovery and booking platform that is dedicated to connecting their guests with a select group of businesses that provide unique and special experiences.