Annie is a contemporary and figurative artist working mainly in acrylics. Her paintings take a close look at nature and everyday objects around us and, although often quiet in their presence, they emerge as powerful and engaging images to the viewer.

I grew up in Highgate in leafy North London. Aged 17, I tried and failed to get into Central St. Martins with a very ‘thin’ portfolio. Quite rightly I was told to come back a year later, but by then I was an au pair in Paris, studying French.

A short time later I explored the options of going to art school in Paris and I soon enrolled at ESAG Penninghen in the heart of St. Germain.

It was extremely tough, not only because my French wasn’t brilliant but it was also highly competitive. Life drawing classes were crammed with up to 90 students sitting on stools with portfolios on their knees, and students I was in awe of would later drop out as they felt they were not good enough.

I persevered and soon transferred to Parsons School of Design, which had recently opened in Paris. It was a great experience to be among such an international group of young artists, where we could share our cultural and creative differences.

Here I began to focus on graphic design and illustration and I graduated from Parsons with a BA in Communication Design/Illustration.

From Paris I went to New York where I continued post-graduate studies at the School of Visual Arts. I put together some rough ideas for a children’s book, created a rough dummy and started knocking on doors – or rather riding elevators up and down skyscrapers!

One door opened and thus began a series of several children’s books with various publishing houses, some of which I wrote and illustrated and others I simply illustrated. The first book that I wrote and illustrated was called Penguin Moon and was published by Holiday House.

I lived in New York for several years illustrating for magazines and overseeing various design projects including the design of panels for an exhibition at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum.

Finding work back in England was tougher and my English accent didn’t have the same appeal as in New York. I managed to illustrate a few more books and wrote under the pen name of Isobel Finn.

It wasn’t until I was diagnosed with breast cancer a few years ago that I picked up a paintbrush again. Painting became an incredible release and it was essential for me during my treatment. I was forced to stop and focus and that focus became a blue square. Having previously worked in gouache for my illustration work I was now exploring acrylic paint and it had to be blue, any blue but generally cobalt.

I am currently working on a series of paintings inspired by a trip to Marrakech earlier this year. I continue to explore this medium and I am venturing into bright and bold colours. I love the richness of colour and texture that acrylic allows.

Mark Rothko, Milton Avery and Paul Klee have all inspired and influenced me greatly. I absolutely love the way that they contrast their colours, often bold but soft in texture which creates an incredible depth open to interpretation.