In support of the Northern Beaches creative community, we feature a new local artist on the cover of every Tawny Frogmouth magazine. This month’s cover artist is Avalon’s Anna Lohe, who is bursting on the the art scene with her vibrant, imaginative works in acrylic on canvas.
What inspired the cover art?
This piece is called “Numero Uno” – as it was the first canvas I ever painted, and I have kept it on our wall at home. I could have sold it so many times, but the symbolism is so massive for me, as it represents me leaving my corporate life behind. My kids helped to paint the flowers at the bottom and it’s full of my favourite things and colours. By coincidence it has become the No.1 selling print from my website.
How did you discover you had a gift for art?
In my previous life I was the Head of Marketing for Woolies. It was an amazing job and when kids came along, I did some consulting work. At the end of my last gig, I went to Billabong Retreat in Dural to do some yoga and on my way, I stopped at Aldi (not Woolies) to buy some bananas. I walked out with a painting kit instead! I painted the billabong to get some zen and posted it on social media. Next minute I have friends asking me to do commissions and then Amy Young at Careel Bay asked me to do an exhibition in their studio and it sold out! I think it was more that other people discovered my art and it’s been the most amazing experience since!
What is your favourite part of the artistic process?
I love to select my colour palette based on my mood or colour scheme that suits a client home. I generally work with 5-6 colours only to avoid chaos! Sometimes I do my background layer in a wild style and then play the game of “what could I turn that into” much the same you do when you look at clouds and one person sees a peacock and the other a flower.
How would you describe your art?
It is abstract, so it is often in the eye of the beholder about what they feel. I love the Japanese expression of wabi-sabi to mean the “perfect-imperfection of nature”.
Which artists, or other inspiring people, dead or alive, would you most like to have dinner with and why?
I would love to have hosted a dinner party with Gaudi, Klimt and the Glasgow Four. I find it fascinating that at the same time around the turn of the 20th century each of these artists were separately experimenting with the same style of expressionism in Barcelona, Vienna and Glasgow. Whether you call it Art Noveau or Successionist these guys were developing similar work, without being able to “jump on a zoom call”.
What are you working on now?
I am working on an exhibition for my gallery opening in Whale Beach on 12 May. It is called Succulent Society Vol. 2 and celebrates our natural environment, and that people can also be succulent via their imagination. It’s been fun to do a wide selection of sizes ranging from mini to extra-large canvas and prints.
Do you have any advice for other young or aspiring Northern Beaches artists?
I think it is equally as important to know how to market your work as it is to create it. It can be cheesy sometimes to self-promote, but you have to get over that and just try.
How can people buy and support your artwork?
You can find original artworks, prints on canvas or fine art paper and my collection of gift cards on my website annalohe.com You can also buy my cards at Bookoccino in Avalon and/or come visit me at my gallery at 231 Whale Beach Rd – send me an email to set an appointment to hello@annalohe.com
More from our local artists
Read more interviews with the talented Northern Beaches artists featured on our covers here
Feature me
Are you an artist local to the Northern Beaches and want to be featured in the Tawny Frogmouth? Email mail@thetawnyfrogmouth.com.au