drawing sixty one Painting

Anneka Foushee Born: Sanford, North Carolina, USA Lives and Works: Oakland, California, USA --- I grew up in a small, tobacco farming community in rural North Carolina, spending much of my adolescence in nature wondering about the workings of the universe. Early creative expression came through dance and music. At age 15, drawing and painting found me. Always a dreamer and explorer, I continually follow my heart's calling. In 2008, I was introduced to a technique of watercolor painting, developed by Rudolf Steiner, called Veil Painting. Layers of color are applied atop one another until forms emerge. This process has a magical quality in my eye and informs my work to this day. In 2009, I began a 1.5 year study using only charcoal on newsprint with San Francisco artist, Michael Markowitz. His process is very spontaneous and physical in the pursuit of authentic mark making. We worked in a group setting "drawing" professional dancers and aspired to dissolve patterns of conditioning. I continued to search for teachers who would contribute to my development. Swiss-German artist Fredy Buchwalder encouraged me to be completely "free"... Working in his 15th century studio in Canova, Italy, he gave me the tools to do so. Immersions in nature and talks of the early abstract expressionists were welcomed fuel for the fire. Soon after, I developed a steady practice in my own studio, finding my way with various materials such as acrylics, sand, water, charcoal, graphite, oil pastels, watercolors, ink, wax, and finally oil paint. Painter Ana Teresa Fernandez once told me "You must become lovers" in regard to my disgruntled relationship with oils initially.. Oil paint and I are becoming more friendly and I work almost daily to develop a more intimate relationship with the medium. I work intuitively and spontaneously with physicality. My paintings have sometimes revealed premonitions. Themes of directionality, occasional stillness, density and patterning surface in the work. Most recently, I am obsessed with creating a certain electrical quality in the color that radiates intensity.