Featured Artist Ana Sneeringer

Slovenian artist Ana Sneeringer presents a collection of bold, abstract portraits of women. Visit her website to see more of her work.

 

 

I come from Slovenia, a country of beauty and contradictions.

 

 

I’ve never thought of becoming an artist because that was just not a thing to be in my country. Before I began my art career, I worked for eleven years in documentary journalism, where I focused on portraits of people. I was doing face-to-face interviews. Today I can see the connection in my art.

 

 

I never attended art school. Having no professional art training gives me the encouragement and freedom to simply create from my heart. I don’t follow the “rules” because I am not aware of those art rules. I instead meld art, life and the education I gained by myself, along with my lifestyle into a piece of art.

 

 

My family moves every three to four years around the world. I currently reside in India, which is my ninth country in the last decade. My art is a mingling of cultures that speak volumes about female presence in the world.

 

 

I’m fortunate enough to live a lifestyle where I have been able to meet people from different cultures and hear their stories. This has greatly enriched my life.

 

 

Traveling around the world and experiencing different cultural traditions and lifestyles has led me to form my own life conclusions, primarily not to see other cultures and races as different. I feel that this life lesson is very evident in my portraits.

 

 

Today I paint female portraits of striking women with expressions that invite you to converse with them. Some of their gazes are almost too intense for the viewer to stare back. I love the way the eyes can capture and hold one’s attention. To me, it’s a form of silent conversation.

 

 

When I create my portraits, I am inviting the viewer to stare back, face their fears and dare to be true to themselves.

 

 

I work mostly in watercolor and acrylic on paper or canvas. I love playing with color. Sometimes, I use bold and loud screaming color, and sometimes I stick with simple black and white.

 

 

My latest series focuses on black and white images. I create my portraits to play with my audience’s (especially my female audience’s) conscious dreams of achieving their goals. Each and every woman has aspirations. These dreams prompt us to step outside of our comfort zones and move forward into the next phase of our lives, navigating our own path forward while grappling with taboo feelings.

 

Artist Ana Sneeringer invites you to follow her on Instagram and Facebook.

 

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