My name, Annelie, originated as a Finnish name, meaning “favor” or “grace.”

                  Indeed I have been favored by Life itself, because I’m one of the privileged

                  few who enjoy what I do. I interpret the fact that my passion became my

                  career as pure grace. I am blessed with favor and grace!

                  I have no Finnish connections that I know of, but I am boots and all one

                  hundred percent South African. My studio is in Middelburg, which is a large farming and industrial town in the Mpumalanga province. Middelburg is known as the 'Stainless Steel Capital of Africa'. It was established as Nasareth, in 1864 by the Voortrekkers on the banks of the Klein Olifants River. The name was changed in 1872 to Middelburg to mark its situation midway between Pretoria and Lydenburg. The town, surroundings, history, and its people, is a source of inspiration to me!

As artist, there’s always something new happening in my life. I am either working on a new painting or I am working towards a new exhibition. I am constantly doings things that I have never tried before and every time it’s a personal victory because I am growing as a person and as an artist.

I dreamed of becoming an artist when I was still a child and watched my mother paint. In my late twenties I held a bachelors degree in cultural history and in arts. For a few years I gave art classes and painted a few canvasses of subjects that I liked. By doing that it slowly became clear to me what it was I wanted to do. I want to paint! I want to capture life’s most beautiful moments on canvas. I want to create flowing and graceful lines. I want to bring warmth and emotion into people’s homes. I want to express beauty and innocence. I want to communicate serenity.

For the first time I felt comfortable with being addictive to creating art. By establishing my message I knew that I was mature enough to become a fulltime artist. I have got something to say; now I must only focus! Michelangelo, one of my role models, did exactly that. He dedicated his life to art. He was still painting till deep in his eighties. I hope to do the same.

From Julia Cameron in her book Letters to a Young Artist I learned that “even if you’re not in the mood, that’s no excuse not to paint. You can only become excellent in what you do if you practice every day.” I also believe that hard word and discipline open doors, and opportunities will arise.

The life of an artist is a see-saw life. There are sunshine and rain, glamour and pain, ecstasy and agony. At the end I need both because to communicate through the light and dark of paint one must first have felt before you can tell.

I wish to bring joy and peace to people’s homes by mixing life’s intriguing colors and flowing lines, and to capture moments of beauty and serenity on canvas that will touch the souls of mortals like myself.

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