What made you start painting.?
When I began secondary school, it seemed that suddenly, out of the blue, I could draw and paint, and I enjoyed line and texture. I always had a fascination with black women’s beauty and grace, and that still continues.

I believe you are mostly “self-taught”. How hard was that for you?
Would your recommend the same approach to others or advise more formal training?
I am mainly self-taught, but I had a good foundation in life drawing, and lots of encouragement during my teen years in school. “Learning by doing” has its benefits: the style you develop is perhaps less influenced by others, and maybe you do have more time to focus on the “inner” you, getting to know what drives you, what you want to experience and want to say through your art.

More formal training has its benefits, too. In pursuing a BFA or MFA, education is broader, encompassing art history, appreciation, and technique. And for those who don’t have the time to study at this level, there are courses and seminars which largely focus on technique.

That being said, there’s no substitute for just painting.

Julia. Transparent Watercolour 2006
55.9 x 43.2 cm (22" x 17")

How has your style evolved over time?
My style has always been representational. In the 12 years that I’ve been painting full-time, viewers tell me they experience some sort of emotional resonance with the subject, or that they feel they’re looking into the soul of the subject. I’m not conscious that I’ve changed anything over the years, but I’ve improved, and I’m focusing only on subjects that move me, affect me. I don’t worry about “creating” a style. I think a style comes as you paint, almost despite yourself. Like handwriting.

 

You paint mainly portraits. What made you choose this subject matter rather than landscape or still life?
I’m one of the few who don’t think of my work as portraiture, although I wouldn’t argue this point with anyone: if the definition of a portrait is “someone’s face”, then I guess that has to be considered as accurate.
In my mind I often refer to the work as a still life, because it’s a painting of a moment in time; a suspension of history. That doesn’t mean I lose sight of the fact that it is a person.
Because my paintings aren’t “client-driven”, I focus on what I want to examine and experience as I paint, and not what somebody else wants to see - my paintings are “painter-driven”. Thus the cropped foreheads and chins in some. No one was telling me to paint the whole person.
I enjoy the sensuality of painting people: the contours of the face, the softness of the lips and smoothness of the skin; I find I’m fascinated by the gaze. During the painting process, there seems to be an interaction with the subject as it develops, and this is always fun.

Ocean Floor. Transparent Watercolour 2003
57 x 54 cm (22.5" x 21.3")

Your paintings seem to capture the subject in a way that is so compelling.. it is as if you are witnessing a private moment. How do you get your subject to relax and be themselves?
I once sat with a young girl who had ballerina-like movements, and I wanted to capture the gesture of her reaching across a table. She had such a combination of sparkle and grace, but I couldn’t recapture that moment I saw. So it doesn’t always work. I find some people just seem to be able to drift off into themselves while others are around, and they seem to be the best models. It’s unpredictable until you test it out.

 

Tell us about your process, How do you start your paintings?
With watercolour, I start with a detailed drawing. What I draw isn’t contours (the shape of the head, the nose, etc.) it’s colour shapes. That is, every time there is a change in colour, I draw that shape. There is still lots of need to draw colour shapes with the paintbrush as the painting develops. I mix my colours on the paper more often than pre-mixing them on the palette. I would say I use a lot of pigment compared with many other watercolourists I’ve observed.

With oils, I do less preliminary drawing, and much more colour mixing on the palette.

Do you always feel motivated to paint?
Yes. Sometimes when I get to the “hard parts”, and there are always what seem like impossible parts in every painting, I’d like to think I could summon a magic fairy to come in with a wand, and that part would be done. But I paint anyway, remembering that the painting won’t paint itself. Discipline is motivational, and so is having a show coming up! When you’ve triumphed over the hard parts, that helps give you confidence for the next time.

You have been successful in getting your work published in art magazines. Do you have any recommendation for those trying to get the attention of Art magazines?
The articles came about through entering the annual competitions of a few art magazines. I do believe, though, that the competition is stiffer now than it was, because it’s so easy for people from around the world to submit digital images.

I’d say to keep on entering those competitions, learn from those who’ve won in previous years; only submit your best work; paint from the heart (getting back to that business about style); consider submitting a story idea or technical information about your work.

You have begun using Water-mixable oil paints. What made you try these?
Three things: I’d been wanting to experiment with other media, and so got back to oils. I wanted to paint larger than I was able to with watercolour. I wanted to create paintings that didn’t require glazing. The fact that brushes clean up with water was a real plus.

The Scar. CSPWC Award Winner 2001
Transparent Watercolour 2001
75 x 46 cm (29.5" x 18")

How do you find them to work with?
They seem to have more drag, be less “buttery” than what I remember of traditional oils. I don’t mix the paints with water; I rinse my brush out with water, but that’s it. Sometimes artists who haven’t used them think they handle like acrylics, that they’re “water based” in the same way. They handle pretty much like traditional oils, and are quite delightful to work with. Manufacturers have their own mixing mediums that you can use with them as you would turpentine or linseed oil, etc.

 

Obviously very different to Watercolor paints.. what would you say is the major draw card to using these oil paints for you?
Brush cleaning with water during painting and wash-up after with soap and water.

Do you think you will continue with Water-mixable oils or stay with Watercolor?
Both. Towards the end of an oil, I think watercolour’s so much easier, and then I do the next in watercolour. And then I think oil’s so much easier, why don’t I do the next painting in oils? And so it goes…

I understand you have just finished organizing a 37-artist show called “Painting the Psalms”. How did you come to be involved in this project?
Several years ago, I began doing a large watercolour of very strong hands holding some knotted and looped ropes. Every time I’d add a bit to the painting, I’d think “Hmmm…. this seems to sum up what I think about life and God… the author of life: behind it all, under it all, gently holding life in his hands, there with us as we face the knots and bumps…”, and it began to be a real dialogue between the painting and I. And God and I. It was a form of meditation, and I find it helps make the Bible come alive when you add a visual experience to its truth.
Another painting called “Peach” is all about temptation, and it sent me back to the Bible to examine the Creation story where it talks about humans not really being made to know evil – not equipped to deal with it.
The people who wrote the Psalms were so open and honest with God, they don’t hold any emotion back, good or bad, and at the same time there’s so much visual imagery there, that I thought it would be fun to see what other artists came up with.

Life. Transparent Watercolour
71 x 55 cm (28" x 21.5")

Can you tell us a little about it?
Each of the 37 artists created a painting which related to a psalm of their choice from the bible. Many people would expect these paintings to be full of angels and the like. But in the Psalms we see that God is involved with every aspect of life, the elation and the despair, the magnificent and the ugly. So we presented paintings that spoke of seeing God in everyday life. These paintings didn’t look “religious” - it was the artists’ vision that transformed them. It was held in a church, and was well attended by churchgoers and non-churchgoers alike.

Will you continue to organize other events for artists in the future?
It’s such fun to provide a platform for the arts, and it was so well-received that I’m sure we’ll do “Painting the Psalms” again. Also, I’m a member of The Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour, and I’ve worked with that organization in our Maritime region to set up different events, and that will continue.

Any advice to artist who may just be starting out?
Join the local art organization in your area; block out “meeting” time on your calendar where you meet with yourself to paint, and treat it as important as any other meeting; consider painting with one or two others at a friend’s house, on a regular basis; if you have a small space, carve out a painting niche for yourself; don’t compare yourself to others – no two people know exactly the same things; you will improve if you continue; take courses; get out and see exhibitions; talk to well-established artists – don’t just stick to the safety of the people you already know.

Looking for Peace. Transparent Watercolour 2006
55.9 x 40.6 cm (22" x 16")

What suggestion would you make to beginner artists who may be finding it difficult to either find the time or the topic to paint?
Here are a variety of suggestions:
Time:
If you don’t have time to paint, you are probably frustrated when you do paint, because it really does take practice (like playing the piano!). One approach to avoiding discouragement would instead of trying to paint that masterpiece that’s in your head, sign up for a more technique-oriented course, say fundamentals of drawing, or colour mixing.

If you’re the sort that can see it as just having fun, take paints on your vacation and dabble a bit. Or set aside a half-hour and do a “study” instead of a proper “painting”. Remember, you don’t have to show anyone what you did – you set the rules!

Topic:
If you can’t find a topic to paint, flip through pictures you’ve taken; try an exercise: paint a swatch of colour the same as your desk or a book on the shelf, or a piece of the sky you’re looking at.
Pretend you are being paid a million dollars if only you can come up with a small painting of a few leaves of a houseplant. Then focus on getting all the different greens you see.
Think about what you love, and come to terms with what’s stopping you from painting what you love. Do you need to take a course? Practice more? Be more brave? Take action!
Get together with a few friends and each take a turn producing something to paint. It may not be something you’d choose, but it will get you painting. Make it fun, nothing serious.
Take your paints and some wool or string out to the back lawn. Mark off a square of grass (not flowers) about 10” x 10” and do a 30-min. painting. It’s amazing what you’ll see as you look. Then change sides to get a slightly different perspective.
Turn a photo upside down and paint it. Resist the urge to turn it right-side up til you’re done.
Put the timer on for 5 or 10 minute intervals. Do as many different, inconsequential objects as you can in each time period. This works well in a group, when one person acts as leader to make you stop and go on to the next object.

Ann is represented by:

Gallery 78 Fine Art, 796 Queen Street, Fredericton, New Brunswick E3B 1C6
Phone 1.888.883.8322
Gallery 78 Fine Art

Fog Forest Gallery, 14 Bridge Street, Sackville, New Brunswick E4L 3N5
Phone 506.563.9000
Fog Forest Gallery

..or you can visit her website: www.annbalch.com - Fortunately for us Ann also holds Watercolor Workshops. Check out her Workshops page to enroll in her next available class.
Also be sure to look out for her solo show is at Gallery 78 in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, opening October 12, 2007.