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Ann Steer Artist – Up Close & Personal

Ann Steer Artist

West Australian painter Ann Steer challenges herself continually to capture the beautiful moments seen and experienced on our West Coast beaches and by creating a painting that captures an emotion and atmosphere that the viewer can suggest their own emotive response to.  Ann has spent the past year’s experimenting through bravery, mistakes and a determination to grow and develop her own style.

“My ultimate goal is to produce paintings that make people stop, pause and escape for a moment, maybe capturing a memory, or just enjoying the beauty in front of them”
Ann Steer

Enjoy Getting to know Ann Steer….

When did you first feel the desire to be artistic and realise you had talent?

 I always remember being creative, I loved art at school and was always drawing, I especially enjoyed lino cuts and was very interested in printmaking and photography.

Where did you learn your art?

When I left high school I enrolled in a printmaking course at Perth Technical College, there was a lot of tuition from lecturers who were practicing artists and it was a wonderful creative environment.  After that course I didn’t paint for many years and around 6 years ago was introduced to pastels and I just loved that medium.  Mostly I have been self-taught experimenting through bravery, mistakes and a determination to grow and develop my own style.

What inspires you most?

Our beautiful coastline, I do try to paint quite varied subjects but the ever changing ocean and sky gives me an endless supply of inspiration.  I get so excited by the promise of a new blank canvas, that early time when you are collaborating photographs rummaging through the colourful array of pastels, sketching in the composition, it’s a free and easy time with no pressure or expectations.

I also teach children and adults from my home studio.  I love that kids are so fearless with their artwork, their use of colour and carefree nature, they are so passionate about their art and they inspire me every day.  I get such great enjoyment from these kids.  I make a pact with my students to always tell me if I have pastel dust on my nose or forehead so I am not talking to their parents looking like a pastel warrior.

 What message are you sending to the viewer of your art?

I hope that when people view my work it gives them a memory of a time and place.

Describe your Studio…

My studio is built next to my house, it is beautiful space with lots of natural light and a huge cathedral ceiling.  I have a bench running down the entire side of the studio so I can spread out my reference material and my numerous trays of pastels I have acquired over the years.  I tend to work quite neatly and like to be organised normally working on one piece at a time.  Having said that, I have been working with acrylics and juggling a number of different pieces at once has been an interesting learning curve for me.

 Describe your typical day of creating art…

The day always starts with music, it just puts me in a great mood and I have such varied tastes so you never know what may be in the CD player.  I get lost in a painting, I kick off my shoes and stand at my easel to work, at the end of the day my feet are normally the colour of phthalo blue from all the residue pastel dust.  I love the fact that pastels are so instantaneous they don’t have any drying time so I can finish a piece in a couple of days.

I have usually thought about what I will do in the studio the day a couple of days before.  I have lots of fantastic photographs that I take wherever I go, amazing sunsets, pathways to the beach and dancing shadows. I have been known to pull out my camera at odd times to get a snapshot of that wonderful cloud formation or the light hitting the ocean as the sun sets.  I think artists see the world differently, we are constantly being provided with information.

What mediums do you use and why?

I use mostly pastels but I have been experimenting with oils and acrylics and have really enjoyed the change.  There is something about my pastel box and all those colours lined up, it’s just like a candy store, very hard to resist the lure of all that colour.

What are you working on now?

Having just returned from Hawaii and was lucky enough to watch the Pipeline Masters, I have a huge array of fantastic big wave photographs. I am itching to get to work on some new wave pieces and I am especially interested in creating some stormy moody scenes.

Currently I am intrigued by oil and acrylic paints so once again I am learning, making mistakes, evolving.  I really want to take some time out to play and experiment and not feel any pressure about the outcome.

 What do you love most about what you do?

I love that I get to disappear into my studio and paint for hours on end.  I especially love it when someone recognises the place that I have painted.

Where can you see yourself in 10 years time?

Painting and creating is a part of me.  In 10 years time I would love to be an established West Australian artist.  I will continue exploring and testing myself.

Ann Steer – Artist Biography

Perth Artist Ann Steer challenges herself continually to capture the beautiful moments seen and experienced on our West Coast beaches. Ann has been a professional artist since 2008 and the ocean has remained her constant inspiration, the rolling of the waves, glistening reflections in the sand, and the observation of light and hues always changing, never the same. Using pastel and acrylic as her mediums of choice, Ann’s ultimate goal is to produce paintings that make people stop, pause and escape for a moment, maybe capturing a memory, or just enjoying the beauty in front of them.

For many West Australians the beach is part of everyday life, my work does not evolve too far away from this endless supply of inspiration.

Light plays an important part in my painting process. I aim to capture the early morning hues of yellow, orange and gold as the sun glints through the tips of the scrub. I especially love that time on the beach when the day is starting to cool, the shadows are creeping past the sand dunes, changing from hues of pinks to purple and blue as the sun sets and you can contemplate the wonderful day that has been had.

I take many photographs of our ever changing ocean and sky focusing my time on continually seeking knowledge and challenging myself to grow. My work is constantly evolving.

  My inspiration comes from exploring different mediums and genres.  I challenge myself continually to capture the beautiful moments seen and experienced on our West Coast beaches or by creating a painting that captures an emotion and atmosphere that the viewer can suggest their own emotive response to.

  My goal is simply to produce a beautiful painting that makes people stop, pause and escape for a moment, maybe capturing a memory, or just enjoying the beauty in front of them. – Ann Steer

Solo Exhibitions

  • 2018     September– Leamac Picture Gallery
  • 2017     November– Studio 281
  • 2015     February – The Gallery – Ellenbrook “Stepping Through”
  • 2012     December – Leamac Picture Gallery
  • 2012     August – Midland Junction Art Centre – “Chasing the Shadows”

Group Exhibitions

  • 2015     December  – Just Add Blue – Kidogo Art Gallery – Fremantle
  • 2014     November  – Kaleidoscope – Joint Exhibition at Gary Holland Community Centre, Rockingham
  • 2014     August  – Quirky Birds and Awesome Owls Guest Artist at Wanneroo Library Cultural Centre
  • 2014     June  – City of Joondalup Art Awards
  • 2014     May – City of Wanneroo Art Awards
  • 2013     August – Kaleidoscope – Joint Exhibition at Wanneroo Library and Cultural Centre
  • 2013     May – City of Wanneroo Art Awards
  • 2013     March – North Coast Art Group – “The Exhibitionists”
  • 2012     April – Manjar Art Awards
  • 2012     February – Ellenbrook Members Exhibition
  • 2011     June – City of Joondalup Art Exhibition
  • 2011     May – City of Wanneroo Art Award
  • 2011     April – North Coast Art Group Annual Exhibition
  • 2011     March – Blender Gallery JCAA Members Exhibition

Shop Ann Steer Paintings

Ann Steer – Recently Sold Paintings

Ann Steer Surfs Up Painting
Surf’s Up
120cm x 70cm
acrylic on canvas
SOLD
Sun Kissed
121cm x 91cm
acrylic on canvas
SOLD
Ripples At The Basin – Rottnestt
121cm x 61cm
acrylic on canvas
SOLD
Crystal Swell – Esperance
68cm x 48cm
pastel
SOLD
Acqua Pool – Redgate Beach
91cm x 61cm
acrylic on canvas
SOLD
Rolling Reef – Rottnest
124cm x 93cm
acrylic on canvas
SOLD
Lapping At The Shore
120cm x 61cm
acrylic on canvas
SOLD
Ann Steer Morning Light Bunker Bay Painting
Morning Light – Bunker Bay
46cm x 56cm
Pastel
SOLD
Ann Steer Coastal View Yal Painting
Coastal View
66cm x 27cm
Pastel
SOLD
Ann Steer As The Day Ends Painting
As The Day Ends
49cm x 68cm
pastel on canvas
SOLD
Ann Steer Beach Break Painting
Beach Break
121cm x 60cm
acrylic on canvas
SOLD
End Of Day – Trigg
122cm x 61cm
pastel on canvas
SOLD
Ann Steer Summer Time Rottnest Pastel Painting
Summer Time Rottnest
62cm x 22cm
pastel
SOLD
Ann Steer Rippling Shallows Acrylic Painting
Ripping Shallows
122cm x 60cm
acrylic on canvas
SOLD
Ann Steer Undulating Dunes Pastel
Undulating Dunes
87cm x 62cm
pastel
SOLD
Ann Steer Rolling Swell Yallingup Pastel
Rolling Swell – Yallingup
105cm x 79cm
pastel
SOLD
Ann Steer Sunlit Pastel Painting
Sunlit
93cm x 73cm
pastel
SOLD
Ann Steer Beach Break Painting
Beach Break
121cm x 60cm
acrylic on canvas
SOLD
Ann Steer Luminous Green Injinup
Luminous – Indijup
76cm x 39cm
pastel
SOLD
Ann Steer Transcendence Painting
Transcendence
151cm x 90cm
acrylic on canvas
SOLD

Ann Steer Image Gallery