Today we’d like to introduce you to Anna Rae Gilbert.
Anna Rae, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Born in Northwest Indiana, I attended The School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 1997 – 2000 and finished my undergraduate degree in Interdisciplinary Art at Herron School of Art and Design in 2007. I continued with my academic career at Maine College of Art and acquired an MFA in 2009. I spent some years as an educator teaching in Montessori and art classrooms as well as planting the seeds for Anna Rae Art. I spent time developing discipline in my studio practice and experimenting with my work. I am currently straddling the commercial and gallery art world. I am enjoying being an artisan in Chicago’s street festivals as well as being a part of group shows in galleries and showing in brick and mortar stores. I have retained a spirited studio practice and a distinctive signature thread throughout my body of work. As a Chicagoan, I’ve grown to appreciate the unique landscape and architecture and it’s inspired me to visually represent the highlights that I have been moved by. I try to look for the peculiar and offbeat.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has not been smooth road by any stretch of the imagination. Being a woman and a single parent in an expensive urban realm has always been a challenge. Financially, it is a gigantic risk. There’s rarely true security for incoming revenue. Being a mother is one of the best things I’ve chosen to do and my time with them is precious. It is hard to justify being an artist while also attaining to provide balance and stability in a home. With the help of patrons and repeat clients, I have gotten to this point and I consider it a success. Every single day is a hustle and I lean on my friends, family and gut that this is where I am supposed to be and this is what I am supposed to do.
Anna Rae Art – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I am the proud sole proprietor of Anna Rae Art. I specialize in paintings; commissions, wholesale, and my personal studio. I’m known for my ability to become intimate with my references whether it is a family photo or a favorite CTA stop. My personal work is informed by an interest in architecture as a living organism and the evolution of personal and objective narrative inside dwellings. I have been working on a series of paintings depicting haunted houses in the region, including structures like the HH Holmes mansion and the Congress Hotel. I paint Chicago landscapes and architecture that are the extraordinary. For example, driving down Lake Street at 6 pm on an autumn day is a spectacle for the eyes and soul. I try to capture that feeling of the trains rattling your vehicle and spirit and the sunlight leaking through the tracks to street and you.
I have vivid palette and my compositions finds harmony in the flaws that are present when trying to represent what an artist sees as beauty. I have tried to categorize the thread within each work and the best way to describe my work Intuitional Abstract Expressionism. My lines and palette are driven with sentimentality, tapping into emotion, nostalgia, and capturing heightened occasions. My paintings and prints become a souvenir and my way of offering those two dimensional and extraordinary moments to others.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I feel that there are ways to define success with both cultural and fiscal capital. The markers I look for are momentum and validation. I’ve seen an increase in interest as well as transactions. The momentum of events, personal work and sales is a traditional marker for success. I think my most proud moments are when I think about the fact that this business is generating income consistently and contributing to the maintenance of being a full time artist. In the past, I would have taken cultural capital and accolades as success. As I grew, I felt that it is unfortunate that we define our work by how much it’s valued at; if it is worthy of purchasing. It has become more about finding the capital from clients in their money as well pleasure with the product and the same applies to galleries.
Pricing:
- Custom Watercolor portrait/commissions (architectural and figurative) start at $250
- 8×10 prints are $25
- Prints and postcards available, currently at 7 stores in Chicago
Contact Info:
- Website: www.annaraegilbert.com
- Phone: 773.426.5450
- Email: annaraegilbert@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/annaraeokay
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/annaraeokay
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
