At the very end of 2004 Ann quit her job, sold her house and moved to the beach in San Francisco. With the encouragement of renowned painters Gregory Kondos and Wayne Thiebaud (American Art icon) she was finally determined to make a living as a painter and to pursue her dream.
After she moved to San Francisco to paint full time she knew that she would have to become prolific in order to thrive. Ann began practicing neuro-feedback, medically aided meditation, so that she could obtain optimal states of performance. So it's no accident that collectors consistently comment that her paintings make them feel happy and calm. Ann's collectors report that her paintings are a source of continuous inspiration.
She also knew that she had to come up with a unique value proposition to thrive in business. So she created a blue ocean strategy helping wineries leverage their largest asset, the unique beauty of their vineyards. Winemakers take her on a tour of their vineyards where she plants her easel. Ann then paints the colors of their vineyards as they change with the seasons, creating authentic and timeless pieces so that wine enthusiasts can bring home a piece of the Wine Country.
This business savvy artist has painted in several of California's American Viticulture Areas, including: Los Carneros, Napa Valley, Livermore Valley, Sonoma Coast, Sonoma Valley, Dunnigan Hills, Alexander Valley, Yountville, Dry Creek, Shenandoah Valley, and the Central Valley.
Collectors select from the very best of her field studies, painted in over a dozen wine regions, and commission Rea to explore her naturally inspired colors on larger canvases.
Her subjects, always inspired by nature, not only include vineyards, but all natural landscapes, including private gardens, large-scale contemporary still life, and charcoal sketches on fine Arches French watercolor paper.
On the surface it seems that her subjects are vineyards but actually it is color inspired by natural ambient light, the unique visual essence of the terroir. Light, or color, changes with the atmosphere and temperature, which is why she creates each piece in the vineyards at specific times of day.
Why "Savor the colors of a moment?" It's catchy, but it actually goes much deeper than that. Because for most of Ann's life, before she started painting for a living, she suffered from chronic anxiety and deep depression. When Ann sums up her former experience of anxiety she states that it's a preoccupation with the future. And depression is a regret or a continuous review of the past. Her friend who had chronic anxiety and then developed stage IV breast cancer said that her anxiety was harder to cope with than her cancer. Ann was actually advised that she would suffer from these conditions for the rest of her life. Thankfully, she ignored her doctors and she took charge. Once she began to paint full time she was free of anxiety and depression.
When Ann paints she is the most present that she can be. Her subject is light expressed as color. And this single focus gives her peace. Hence, "Savor the colors of a moment."
Blending old and new world traditions, Ann paints colors inspired by sunlight. With the direct mentorship she received from contemporary painter Wayne Thiebaud (an American Art icon), she paints in the timeless tradition of French Impressionists like Monet, plein air (in the open air). Ann even uses the same oil pigments as Van Gough from Old Holland Oil Works established in 1664.
