Anna Rose Bain in the studio with several of her paintings. 

 

Scottsdale Artists’ School: How did the opportunity arise to teach at the Scottsdale Artists’ School?
Anna Rose Bain: A friend of mine recommended me to the executive director, who called me shortly afterward to invite me to teach at the school. I was honored by the invitation, as I’ve taken workshops at the school, which have been instrumental in my development as an artist.

SAS: What do you look forward to most when teaching your workshop?
AB: I love watching a transformation take place in my students from the first day to the last day of the workshop. It starts out with this nervous energy, which turns to terror, which eventually becomes a breakthrough, which then leads to confidence in the students’ developing skills. Students walk out of my workshops feeling exhausted but invigorated at the same time, and motivated to get back to their studios and put in the work. I’ve seen the transformation dozens of times, but I’m still amazed every time. It is such an honor to bear witness to another person’s growth and even more of an honor to be the catalyst for that growth.

Anna Rose Bain, Sunbathed, oil, 18 x 14" (45 x 35 cm)

 

SAS: Has painting portraits of women and children always been your passion?
AB: I do love painting women and children, and they have been my passion for many years, largely as a result of my relationships and life circumstances. When my friends and siblings started getting married and having kids, I asked them to model for me. When I had children of my own, I made them the subjects of dozens of my paintings. I’ve also found that most of my commission work is of women or children. These days though, I’m equally passionate about painting florals, plein air landscapes and figurative pieces of both men and women. Subject matter can evolve along with an artist’s style and interests.

SAS: Tell us about the moment you discovered you wanted to be an artist.
AB: I always wanted to be an artist. I can vividly remember the moment I decided I wanted art to be my full-time career and calling. I was a freshman at Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan, in 2003, and several of us art majors went on a field trip to Youngstown, Ohio, to see Richard Schmid’s retrospective show at the Butler Institute of Art. I grew up in rural Wisconsin with very little exposure to art history books or works by contemporary artists. I had never seen anything like this show. Getting to hear him speak, and then looking at his original paintings up close and studying his brushwork, I was struck by the sheer joy his work inspired, not just in him as the artist, but in me, the viewer. I knew then that I wanted what he had: unadulterated joy and curiosity from a lifetime of making paintings.

Anna Rose Bain, Vintage Tutu, oil, 50 x 36" (127 x 91 cm)

 

SAS: How did you overcome obstacles?
AB: It depends on the obstacles. If I’m struggling with problem-solving in a painting, I will sometimes put it against a wall, facing away, and not look at it for several weeks or months. Often when I come back to it with fresh eyes, I’ll have gained the skills or had the time to figure out a solution to the problem. With life’s obstacles, I’m a firm believer in prayer, in maintaining physical and mental health, in taking breaks as needed, and in having a support group of people I trust. And artists I can turn to for critiquing my work. You know who you are!

SAS: What do you want someone to see when they look at your work?
AB: I want my work to inspire joy and longing. I would hope that, for my viewers, the work brings positive facets of themselves to the surface (a childhood memory, for example), that they haven’t thought about for a long time. I want my work to bring beauty into someone’s life.

Anna Rose Bain, Joyful Spring, oil, 12 x 12" (30 x 30 cm)

 

SAS: Tell us about your upcoming workshop.
AB: I’m excited to be teaching a four-day workshop on portraiture and figure painting. I’ve decided to split the workshop into two parts, because over the years I found that with a basic portrait class, we are often missing that essential component of studying the head as it relates to the neck, shoulders and the rest of the figure. With a figure painting workshop, students are often frustrated because they find that the heads and bodies in their paintings feel disjointed. My goal for this workshop is to help students gain confidence in tackling both subjects so that any time they are in an open studio or live painting session, they’ll have the skill and self-assuredness to paint either a portrait or a figure with speed and accuracy.

SAS: What do you hope students will take away from your teachings?
AB: I find that painting is 10 percent technical skill, and 90 percent a mental game, so mindset is crucial. My goal in teaching students practical skills (e.g. how to see, how to become more efficient with their process, etc.) is ultimately to help them gain more confidence. I hope that a positive, can-do attitude is their biggest takeaway.  —

Visit www.scottsdaleartschool.org for more information on the school and its upcoming workshops.