Ann was born in Huddersfield, Yorkshire and later studied painting at Canterbury College of Art & Design. After many years working in both London and Kent, Ann moved to West Penwith in Cornwall in 2006 and has since worked as a full time painter.
Fred Cuming RA invited Ann to exhibit at the 2008 Discerning Eye Exhibition where she won the Regional Prize for the West Country. In the same year, she exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition and more recently has shown her work in both the Royal West of England Academy and the Mall Galleries including with the New English Art Club, the Royal Society of British Artists and the Royal Institute of Oil Painters.
"I find the practice of painting is akin to meditation where the mind is focused on the work and all the stuff of everyday life disappears. My work is inspired by a varied collection of objects around my studio and home, flowers in the garden and the colours and textures found in the landscape, especially the geology and flora of the coastal cliffs where I walk daily.
The paintings are predominantly oil on linen or board and I prefer a limited palette, mixing my colours from the three primaries, black and white. I start by making random marks of colour (the under painting is integral to the work) which gradually take shape as pared down Still Life compositions, hopefully bringing order, balance and a bit of tension into the initial chaos. My fascination with the relationship between form, space, and colour is fundamental to my practice.
I make many small drawings, collages and oil sketches for reference while creating larger works and at the end of each working day brushes and palette knives are wiped onto newspaper, often creating little sketches which are later pasted into work books that can become ideas for future paintings."
