About the Artist
Time spent in nature delights and restores me and provides endless inspiration for my paintings. My current work reflects the sense of connection I feel with forests, streams and the subtle details and complexities of nature’s smaller elements. I enjoy returning over and over again to familiar untamed places to see them transformed by the conditions of light that change with the weather, time of day or season.
I am particularly captivated by the dynamic interplay of light with the flowing water of creeks and streams and how that interaction reveals unexpected shapes, forms and colours. The surface of these living waterways is never still; it can be an ever-shifting mirror of the sky and nearby foliage or a window to the world beneath the waves.
Each painting begins with a detailed drawing of my composition on the canvas followed by a first layer of fluid acrylics. With each subsequent layer I enhance and adjust colours, refine shapes and add smaller features. Accents, highlights and final details complete the painting.
Although my paintings are representational I depart from strict realism with some of my compositional choices and I love to play with colour so I will exaggerate, intensify or subdue hues to better translate not just what I see but also express the awe I feel for the wonders of the natural world.
BIOGRAPHY
Anne Sutton is a representational landscape painter who was born and raised in Toronto, Canada and currently lives west of the city in Halton Region. Drawing and painting since early childhood, Anne is primarily self-taught but has also refined her skills with painting workshops and classes. Her formal education includes a Bachelor of Science from the University of Toronto and a diploma in Graphic Design from Humber College.
Returning to art in adulthood, Anne painted with watercolours for many years and also taught adult watercolour classes and workshops. She now works almost exclusively with acrylics on canvas to capture her experiences of the southern Ontario landscape, focusing on conditions of light and weather to evoke a sense of time and place.
In 2019 Anne became an elected member of the Colour and Form Society. She is also a member of the Fine Art Society of Milton. Her work has been accepted into juried art shows and competitions across Canada and she has won several awards. Her paintings have found homes in private collections in Canada, the United States and Great Britain.
AWARDS
2018 October - Honourable Mention - Colour and Form Society 66th Annual Open Juried Exhibition, Etobicoke Civic Centre Gallery, Etobicoke, Ontario for Yesterday’s Rain
2005 February - VAM Award - Visual Arts Mississauga, Members’ Show, Mississauga, Ontario
2005 - People’s Choice Award - Halton Hills ArtsWeek John Sommer Juried Art Show, Georgetown, Ontario for Horseplay #1 - The Chase
2004 December - Wittnauer International Award - Open Water 2004, Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour 79th Annual Juried Exhibition, Etobicoke Civic Centre Gallery, Etobicoke, Ontario for Horseplay #1 - The Chase
2003 February - First Place Fine Art - Visual Arts Mississauga, Members’ Show, Mississauga, Ontario
2002 July - Aquila Customers’ Choice Award - Calgary Exhibition & Stampede Western Showcase Art Auction, Calgary, Alberta for The Keeper of Secrets
2002 July - Collectors’ Choice Award - Calgary Exhibition & Stampede Western Art Auction, Calgary, Alberta Stampede Western Showcase Art Auction, Calgary, Alberta for The Keeper of Secrets
2001 July - First Place - Visual Arts Category, Artistry by the Lake, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario
2000 November - Honourable Mention - Colour and Form Society Annual Juried Show, Etobicoke Civic Centre Gallery, Etobicoke, Ontario
2000 October - Jurors’ First Award of Excellence, Autumn ArtsFest Juried Art Show, Etobicoke Civic Centre Gallery, Etobicoke, Ontario for Almost April
