San Francisco based Artist & CEO

When I was starting out painting for a living I needed to hear, “I believe in you”  from the people who were important to me.  I borrowed their faith.  And as I achieved success I was able to believe in myself even more.  I needed to hear “I believe in you” to counteract the intermittent doubtful commentary coming from between my own two ears and from others who essentially said that I was nuts to quit my job, with health insurance, and move to San Francisco to paint for a living.  “You do have savings?”  “Well, you can always go back to project management consulting?”  I’d think, “I’d rather swallow a chair.  I’ll tend bar or start my own house cleaning business if I have to.”

I still need to know from certain people that they believe in me.  Who doesn’t benefit from knowing that others believe in them? But of course it’s true that one’s belief, one’s confidence, is ultimately what shapes their daily reality.  So I’m conscious of my inner dialogue and there are days that I must stand guard at the gates of my mind by redirecting my thoughts.

The very best way to redirect my thoughts is to be present.  And painting is the most effective antidote to my drifting or chaotic thoughts.  Why?  Because the paint doesn’t lie.  It offers instant feedback on my level of relaxed focus.

As I develop my current series of Benovia’s vineyards I’m also mindful that my painting will have an effect on the energy of the room that my collector’s place it in.  And I want that energy that my collectors feel, even unconsciously, to be positive and inspired.

San Francisco based Artist & CEO

Does that sound like an artist’s creative process?  Well, it’s part of mine.  Like so many things in life, painting is a numbers game.  And the more studies I paint, the better my odds of creating one that I love and one that my collectors will love.   I’m working towards a painting that will hold my interest and attention so that I’ll want to explore it further and reinterpret it on a larger scale.

My experience has taught me that the less attached I am to a painting, the freer I can be, and the better the outcome. That tension, or lack of tension, all shows up in my paint.  My art reflects my state of being.  As an artist, my work forces me to face a deep inner awareness that can be a joy or a complete frustration.  The only remedy is to keep working through it and sometimes walk away for a while so that I can return with some perspective and insight.

The other reason I take this “give me twenty” approach is because it’s my strategy to avoid perfectionism.  This is a malady that absolutely kills creativity and one that can only/just make me miserable.  Nothing is perfect.  Nothing I’ve ever painted anyway.

People always want to know, “What do you with the paintings that don’t make it?”  I edit them, I destroy them.  Just like you crumble up the piece of paper that you jotted down your first bad draft.  Doesn’t it feel good?  Destruction is part of creation.   I wish I had a shredder I could put some of these paintings through.  Maybe one of those tree shredders?

San Francisco based Artist & CEO

My art patrons, who commissioned the Benovia vineyard painting series, recently asked me how I go about doing business as a fine artist.  I’m often asked this, so I decided to share my answer.

I have built my business as commissioned-based since I decided to commit to painting full time.

People often confuse the word commission with consignment.  Consignment describes the arrangement that most art galleries require of artists. The title to the art is held by the artist while the art gallery acts as the agent for the sale of the art.  The artists gets paid if and when their art sells.  This requires the artist to work on speculation and to accept a 50% to 60% payment from the gallery. Although it’s illegal for art galleries to demand exclusivity, they require that the artists work with no other art galleries in the large geographic market they define.  That means that art galleries will typically require that the artist not sell anything on their own website.

Commissioned art is paid for in advance by enthusiastic collectors.  Not all artists accept commissions and even if they do, some do this with a certain reluctance.  Generally artists are reluctant to accept commissions because they have not managed their collector’s expectations very well and they don’t have a clear agreement.

I have, and I always will, embrace private commissions.  Not only does it make more business sense, it allows my collectors and I to get to know one another. I enjoy our interaction and getting to know each patron.

I find energy and inspiration in creating a series or a canvas for someone.  And I think it makes me more mindful of the gift of art.  It’s a personal interaction.  This is also why I don’t accept all commission requests.

"untitled", charcoal on canvas board, Ann Rea

Next week I’ll begin my harvest of color at Benovia’s vineyards for my collectors Mark and Nancy. Benovia’s autumn harvest of grapes will also begin, so I’ll have to dodge production while I paint and make sure that I’m clear out of their way.

Someone recently asked “Why vineyards?” Explain your creative process.  I started landscape painting by focusing on wild, natural, organic landscapes of wetlands and farms returning to riparian habitat.

The first time I painted a vineyard I was drawn to (no pun intended) the architectural elements of this landscape, the rows of grapes that streak across the acres defining the curves of the land.

Why was I attracted to this visual element?  Well, when I was in art school one of the things I did to pay the rent and tuition was architectural renderings.  Three-point perspective is often not many architects’ strong suit.

So I became very practiced in spatial perception.  Forms closer to us appear bigger; things in the distance appear smaller.  Their specific proportion to one another in drawing is called perspective.  This is a discipline that I find intriguing and a vineyard gives me an opportunity to explore this.

And I find that being out among nature feeds my soul.  My subject is not actually the vineyard but the forms it takes as color.  Color inspired by natural light.

It’s a challenge to express my thoughts about my creative process. But I appreciate one sentence in particular from a collector who remarked about my work. “Patience and persistence in getting to know your subject matter so well. It really is a destiny based on love of life.”

So if one looks at this body of work, only literally or symbolically, the way that much of our culture is oriented, it is yet another vineyard painting.  For me, the artist, it’s a new landscape, with different forms, and colors.  Each piece is a new exploration, a meditation of color and form.

San Francisco based Artist & CEO

Why someone collects art is very personal motivation.  Just as personal as their musical or fashion preferences, for example.

And art is generally the focal point of an interior environment. It’s the primary focus of a room and it therefore expresses a lot about the owner. That’s one reason to collect art.

But most people simply collect art because the work of art has a moving aesthetic appeal and it has an emotional impact and meaning. The piece resonates with them in ways they often cannot fully explain.

Art is about emotion and the same piece of art can ignite a different emotional response in each person.  Your response is the only one that matters.

The fact is that a painting is just paint stuck on canvas but the artist’s emotional energy and skill behind the medium has the power to transport the viewer, to shift their consciousness, and to offer continuous inspiration.  Many of my collectors will say that they see something new in the painting every time they study it, day after day, year after year.

Some collect art to buy and trade for a profit but most art collectors buy art for the pure pleasure of it and because they enjoy the relationship with the artist.

Humans have been collecting and commissioning artists throughout our history.  Art expresses our culture’s deeply held values, beliefs, and current point of view, often reflecting our history.

Whatever the reason you collect art, I can say that I have yet to have a collector who regretted buying one of my paintings.  But I have met several people who deeply regret not buying one of my original oil paintings when they had the chance.  I know, because they are still mentioning it years later.

San Francisco based Artist & CEO

A luxury-marketing consultant recently asked, “Why don’t you paint luxury sports cars? It’s the same darn thing as a vineyard!?” “Are you kidding?” I laughed.  But, he wasn’t.

I’m not sure how a vineyard and a car are related in this gentleman’s mind.  But he insisted that they are the “same thing” and that his recommendation would give me the opportunity to appeal to a luxury market with a predisposition for collecting. It may be the same thing for a commercial illustrator, but from an artistic point of view, it’s just not.

He was on the right track.  It’s no secret that I’m targeting prospects with well above average discretionary income and collecting personalities, but I’m not a commercial illustrator.  I’m an artist.  And as an artist, I have to pursue subjects that I feel passionate about and that resonate with me, or, I can assure you, they won’t resonate with collectors.  I also don’t want to confuse my market with an unrelated direction.  It’s best for businesses, and artists,  to first firmly establish a niche before they venture too far a field.

I receive a similar “suggestion” about painting golf courses.  I mean no disrespect to car or golf enthusiasts, but neither fancy sports cars nor are golf courses are of any interest to me.  And I’m quite clear on my art direction, thank you.

I once lunched with Stephanie Gallo, and she asked me  “Why do your paintings have so much feeling and depth compared to the artists that we have worked with?  Their work doesn’t even compare.”  My answer, “Because you’re not telling me what to do.  I’m expressing my emotions.  I can’t possibly do that if I’m thinking about satisfying your expectations.”

I’m not sure if she liked, or really understood, my answer but my response is the simple truth.

In the words of Tim Mondavi, art, just like wine, “has to come from the heart.”

San Francisco based Artist & CEO

I don’t know who to credit with this obvious wisdom with but this has been a guiding principle of my life for the past five and a half years.  Developing as an artist, while building a business, and a respectable brand, has required constant learning and ongoing examination, all of which I wasn’t really prepared for with my fine art degree.

Before this, I tried to fit into the predictable pace of a conventional job because I thought that this would offer more economic stability and therefore happiness. But frankly I was often bored with my work and frustrated with the inevitable office politics.

My work in various cubicles in no way involved my passions or interests and it actually wasn’t really all that predictable.  When I was an employee the employment environment was becoming less and less stable; I can’t even imagine what it must be like for so many now.  I was like many employees: subject to layoffs, shifting priorities and projects. I had a really hard time faking being a “team player” when I believed that the “team leader’s” eyes where not on the ball. I was never a cheerleader and when I was nominated for homecoming queen in high school, I respectfully declined.

So I’m happy to say that almost every week I’m doing something that I’ve never done.  On some levels its made my life much more challenging but it’s certainly more rewarding.  And I because I took more risks I have more than I could have imagined five and half years ago and I know that there is more to come.

San Francisco based Artist and CEO of Ann Rea, Inc.

1. Artistic success comes from clearly and authentically expressing yourself, with skill.
2. It’s a numbers game, the more paintings you create, the better the paintings.
3. The best paintings come easy. Don’t overwork a painting or make it too precious or it will feel overworked.
4. Paint and don’t think about it, feel it. It’s like dancing.
5. Art has the power to make people feel and heal, just like a drug.
6. You have to love your work if others are going to love it.
7. Art is very subjective. But quality and skill, they’re easier for everyone to recognize.
8. Confidence comes from experiencing success but first it comes from the story that you’re telling yourself.
9. Painting is art, selling a painting is business.
10. Nurture your relationship with collectors, they are your best source of referrals.
11. Invite collectors to ask any questions.  The creative process is fascinating.
12. Art requires passion and discipline.
13. Creative people need to express themselves to be healthy and happy.
14. The human condition is universal and art can help us feel connected to our humanity.
15. Painting is but an illusion of shapes, colors, and lines.  But the emotional and creative energy behind this has the potential to transport the viewer.
16. Your compensation is commensurate with the amount of value that you provide.
17. Don’t accept art direction, unless you are an illustrator.
18. The act of destruction is linked to creation, enjoy destroying some paintings.
19. Everyone’s a critic.
20. And everyone proclaims that they are an artist, when they are children.

What is an oil painting?  It’s simply layers of paint of different colors, lines, and shapes on canvas.  Maybe some other mediums mixed in.  But basically that’s it.  For the most part the canvas is a rectangular shape.  This is the conventional format that we agree upon and anything else would only serve as a distraction.

Often there are some charcoal lines underneath the paint, a drawing.  Then layers of colors, lines, and shapes on canvas.  The artist’s skill is maneuvering and forming these colors, lines, and shapes in such a way that they project an illusion to the viewer.

The illusion that can move you from where you are in that moment to another place that you imagine while looking at the painting.  It can draw you in.  If I’m doing it right you are “savoring the colors of a moment.”

Obvious? Maybe.  But how conscious are we of the illusion?

For centuries we took the illusion for granted and then the abstract art movement blew the illusion to pieces. They began to simply celebrate the essence of the expression, the shapes, the colors, and lines for their own sake.

The uninitiated argument is that this is somehow demonstrating less artistic still or even creative ability.  Not so.  It’s just not demonstrating the illusion.

What you see above is my first layer of lines, charcoal lines.  Blocks of colors in different shapes will follow; they are the colors that I see underneath colors.  How do I see this?  I just use experience that I’ve learned to trust over time.  The illusion resides in my head and I build it layer by layer.

People will ask me “Do you enjoy painting vineyards?”  They are not my subject, color is my subject.  Color that’s inspired by natural ambient light and the illusion that it forms in my head.

Alf Nucifora, Chairman of the San Francisco Luxury Marketing Council recently interviewed and profiled me and my company.   It’s transcribed here.

Many people are confused about my business model; they expect that a gallery should represent me.  However, Ann Rea, Inc. is the legal entity that represents the artist Ann Rea.

Creative property is a most valuable asset in our current conceptual economy.  So I deliberately followed the lead of many musicians who have ditched their major record label contracts to maintain ownership of their copyright and to keep creative control and to earn more current and future revenue.

I joined artists who leverage the Internet to reach their market and to build their platforms.  I also joined the Luxury Marketing Council to hone my marketing skills and to meet like-minded people.

The San Francisco Luxury Marketing Council has provided an opportunity to enjoy crossing paths and to become friends with a number of people with unique talents and interests. Alf Nucifora is a Harvard educated, Australian.  He used to be an advertising executive and he’s a natural connector.  Nancy Zerrela is a former designer from New York who is launching a new online media resource that explores the creative process from the point of view of a number of innovators.  Simon Stokes is a sales consultant who has helped me create sales strategies based on my current marketing strategies.  Simon used to sell Lear and Challenger jets to CEOs and celebrities so he understands the luxury-market.

I look forward to my San Francisco Luxury Marketing meetings because I’m always sure to learn something new or to cross paths with someone I’ve never met.