MAY GALLERY
Finding Beauty in the Ordinary
Mixed-Media Paintings Inspired by Everyday Materials & Moments
ADARA MUSICK Highlands Youth (HY) Advisory Board & Central Park Resident
Local artist Anna Macrae brings her exhibition “Creative Play” to Blakely Hall this May, featuring a vibrant collection of mixed-media paintings created over the past five years. The show highlights primarily two-dimensional works layered with texture and found materials. Meet Anna at a public reception on Sunday, May 2, from 12:30-2 p.m., where she will also present a small selection of threedimensional pieces. From a young age, Anna has been surrounded by art. Both her mother and grandmother were accomplished oil painters and creativity flourished in every aspect of her life. From making
her own clothes to building toys from cardboard, she has always found significance in small things with seemingly no value. “When I grew up, we didn’t have a lot of toys, so making was our play,” she said. “We made things with cardboard boxes and found domestic objects.” In her art today, she continues that spirit of resourcefulness. Taking after her artistic role models, Anna uses oil paints while putting her own twist on the medium with unexpected textures and layers that give each piece its own story. The use of nonprecious materials also allows her to experiment freely. “I like the freedom it gives you to play,” she said. “If it doesn’t work out, it really doesn’t matter. I also like the unexpected quality that found objects can give.” Anna describes herself as a process-driven artist, and her studio reflects that approach. “On a typical day it’s a mess,” she said. “I have a continual buildup of various mediums at hand, and I work with an ongoing process of pulling different materials from previous projects into new work.” Texture and surface play an important role in the emotional impact of her work, often revealing layers of paint and materials beneath the surface.
Anna’s background also shapes her artistic perspective. Originally from the United Kingdom, she feels her work carries a subtle European influence.
“I often distress the surface to give a piece an aged appearance to reference depth of history,” she said. “Recently, I’ve been deconstructing gilded frames and adding these to my work. I feel this is a nod to the formal classical paintings I would see in museums.” Since moving to Seattle in 2001, her artistic style has evolved significantly. She said the biggest challenge has been the transition from creating realistic watercolors to abstract oil paintings. Plus, the scale of her art has increased. Through this layered approach, Anna hopes viewers will slow down and spend time exploring the details within each piece. She invites her audience to discover the depth of the mark-making and process, encouraging them to “get lost in the surface.” At its core, Anna’s work celebrates the overlooked moments of daily life. “Most of us live very ordinary lives, with family, work and home being at the center,” she said. “I feel we need to value this.”
“Sometimes, the embedded materials could be meaningful to the narrative,” she noted. “I think I’m often trying to age a piece and reference layers of time.” Texture and surface play an important role in Anna’s oil paintings.
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