“Art isn’t paint; it’s love.” ~Philip Hicken

i can paint images that come to my mind’s eye. usually they arrive to me while i’m asleep, in my dreams. sometimes, i get them when i am meditating or during a long swim, mindless minutes on the elliptical, a seemingly endless bus ride or in the middle of a music concert! i truly just never know when the magic will happen! but that is my process...AND that’s not all~

my dreams also unfold ‘the how’... vivid “plans” - detailed and layered ...pictorial instructions so vivid i can clearly recall them as i reproduce the image from my dream onto the weave of fabric under my fingers. it is a process that takes a tremendous amount of time. especially for me. everything has to be marked, labeled, recorded, measured...it isn’t just about the ‘art’ or ‘painting’ - it is truly a labor of love. i am on my knees on the floor for hours ... when i was younger, not that big of a deal, but as the years pass, yeah, its becoming a big deal. but, i get so focused, i don’t think about it, until i have to get up LOL.

i really love what i do. i love that my dreams are filled with these amazing picture stories just waiting to be ‘told’.

“art isn’t paint; it’s love.”~Phillip Hicken

Annie’s hand is hold a paint brush and is on the floor painting an abstract image of red and blue

...applying another layer

person

possibility

process

i am a USAF and MN air national

guard veteran living with blindness.

late in my 30’s i was diagnosed

with rod-cone dystrophy.

process

possibility

process

i continue to create by building up the surface layer by layer...navigating the tactile surface and especially designed touch points. i use technology and braille labels to help me identify the tubes of paint and mediums in my studio.

it is only in my dreams do the images that i paint come into full view of my imagination.

possibility

though, i am no longer able to actually 'see' my art, i continue to ask the question of those who can:

'do you see what i feel?'