Today we’d like to introduce you to Anna Charney.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
Mine is one of the forever stories of “I’ve been making art since I learned to pick up a pencil”. I probably decided when I was around 6-7 years old that I wanted to be an artist when I grew up and have lived my whole life in that pursuit.
I grew up in Denver, CO and am lucky to have had an amazing support system and arts education since I was a child. At 12 years old I began attending a well-regarded arts magnet school in Denver (Denver School of the Arts), where I majored in Visual Arts throughout middle school and high school.
In 2012, I moved to Chicago to attend the School of the Art Institute. I graduated with my Bachelor of Fine Arts, with a focus in Drawing and Painting, in December 2015. I was able to continue my arts education out of college in Fall 2016 when I moved back to Denver and began a one-year spray paint apprenticeship.
I am now based back in Denver, CO, where I split my time between studio work and large mural installations. Expanding my practice into murals and street art has been such a thrill and I am really happy and proud of where I am as a 24 year old emerging artist. I’m feeling super driven and optimistic for what’s to come!
I received my Bachelor of Fine Arts, with a focus in Drawing/Painting, from the School of The Art Institute of Chicago in December of 2015. Technically, I became a self-employed artist in the “real world” then, when I was 21.
Even before that though, I attended a well-known arts magnet school (Denver School of the Arts) in Denver, CO for middle and high school, where I majored in Visual Arts. So I was effectively majoring in Art through 11 years of education. I couldn’t be more thrilled that that path has led me to create a career doing what I love most.
Please tell us about your art.
Through the use of graphic patterning, dense detail and expansive compositions, I create a sensational and retinal experience for the viewer of my paintings.
I am a painter of abstract and pattern based work. My studio practice takes form as acrylic paintings on canvas and my murals are a combination of aerosol and house paint.
I am interested in optical art and systems of illusions. Each painting consists of many flowing and bending forms, which are primarily made up of enlarged halftone and ben-day dot patterns. I reference printmaking in my use of these patterns, which help to create the illusion of a printed image on a micro scale. By enlarging these patterns and using the dots and shapes themselves, I am layering multiple illusions within each painting.
Along with these literal illusions, I integrate other forms of visual perception to delve the viewer into an imagined depth and space. I use line and repetitive shapes to create speed and manipulate the eye of the viewer, hoping that the dynamic arrangements of detail and corresponding visual rhythms will create an immersive experience. I’ve learned in my studies of optics how the eye responds more actively to high contrast, graphic patterning, which in my work remains in the black and white value scale. The use of negative space allows my shapes and forms to become unbounded.
I began spray painting about 1.5 years ago and it seemed natural for my imagery to blow up into large scale. I use an airbrush in the studio and that visual effect translates well into aerosol. What excites me most about art is the feeling the viewer gets from actually being in front of it and viewing it, so the move into large-scale mural installations worked well in order to give my viewers a, literally, greater experience.
Do you have any advice for other artists? Any lessons you wished you learned earlier?
For those eager to learn, meet other artists, and seek out opportunities –
If there is someone who’s work you respect and are deeply inspired by, reach out to them, let them know how what they’ve done has resonated with you, and simply offer your help if they ever need it. Many artists will eventually need a hand on an installation/hanging a show, etc. and this is a great way to get insight into their careers. You never know what kind of valuable experiences you’ll learn from theirs and this kind of networking can open doors to so many more opportunities. This was a life-changing piece of advice for me that I was told when I was in still at SAIC. Murals are now a huge part of my career and this is how I ended up getting my one-year spray paint apprenticeship that introduced me to street art and gave me the base of skills and techniques to use for them.
Seek out the arts community in your area and become an active part of it. Growing into the street art community over the last year and a half has made me aware of how isolated the studio art community can be (at least how isolated mine was). Art is better when shared with others. I’ve found there is such valuable payback when you put in the effort towards building relationships with your peers, in a studio setting and outside of it. I’ve also started collaborating for the first time in my life and am finding how great the challenge of creating with others is.
Otherwise, I’m still pretty young and am still figuring out what works and what doesn’t work. It’s an interesting journey to be on as there’s no obvious or “normal” direction or path to lead, and even though it’s confusing and hard to fumble around sometimes, the reward is so worth it 🙂
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
You can check out my portfolio on my website www.annacharneyart.com or on my Instagram @annacharneyart for some more progress shots/studio insights as well!
Most of my work is in Colorado, but I’m working on lining up some more out-of-state projects and getting out there more! I do have one public mural that I did in March when visiting back in Chicago off of Morgan and Hubbard as part of The B Line project.
People can support my work through my site (please email me at anna@annacharneyart.com with inquiries on my inventory of original paintings and for painting and mural commissions). I also have a shop on my site with some affordable drawings, prints, and clothing with my art on it! Here’s the link to my shop: https://www.annacharneyart.com/shop
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.annacharneyart.com/
- Phone: 3039577376
- Email: anna@annacharneyart.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annacharneyart/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annacharneyart/
Image Credit:
Final image credit to Michelle Fink Photography.
All other photos taken by me.
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