Artist Spotlight - Annika Connor, Contemporary Romantic Painter
November 5th, 2018, by Kathryn Pomroy
Fascinated with the beauty and decadence of life, Annika Connor transports viewers into a mindset where dreams, passion and color take center stage. As a contemporary romantic painter, Connor’s work has been featured in publications, such as Elle Magazine, and her paintings have traveled around the world to places, such as Canada, France, Italy, London, Russia, Sweden, Spain, and the West Indies. Currently residing in Brooklyn, Connor maintains an active studio, and proves that dreams of an artist really do come true – in real life and on canvas.
The Interview
Sources of Inspiration
“The paintings seem to be fragments from a forgotten fairytale or the illustration of a daydream,” says Connor, who says she pulls inspiration from her life, friends, film, and mythology.“I love beauty in all forms and seek to capture it in my paintings and re-present it to my viewers…I am attracted to color, detail, and pattern and include all elements of these into my paintings.”
Connor says she has been painting all of her life, and always drew as a child. She was about 9 or 10 years old when she first embraced oil painting. However, she says that watercolors are her primary medium these days. With bold, vivid imagery, Connor depicts a wide range of subjects, including ballerinas, lovers, the interiors of homes, and peacocks, such as her piece ‘Amadeo’ – winner of the 2011 Grumbacher Painting Prize.
I love beauty in all forms and seek to capture it in my paintings and re-present it to my viewers…I am attracted to color, detail, and pattern and include all elements of these into my paintings.
Career Trajectory
Connor received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2002, where she studied painting and philosophy. “Since then, I have worked professionally as a painter in New York and London, and participated in numerous national and international exhibitions,” she says.
The artist also mentions that she has a head for business and her ideas often spill out of the studio, which is why she founded Active Ideas Productions – “an organization committed to the education, distribution and development of emerging artists and the art community.”
She says that painting sales are her primary source of income, which also allows her to fund most of her Active Ideas Productions projects. “Each time I sell a painting there is a different story behind the sale,” Connor says, adding that she typically sells her work at shows, through galleries, or with art dealers or art consultants. Connor also does a lot of private sales. “These usually come to me through word of mouth, recommendations of collectors, or through my social and professional contacts,” she says.
Annika Offers the Following Advice to Artists Interested in Becoming a Professional Painter:
"One important [nugget of wisdom] to keep in mind is the old saying for when dealing with rejection – remember, one rarely hits the bull’s-eye with the first arrow.”
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