Anne Byrd
When I complete a piece I feel a sense of calm and serenity I don’t get anywhere else in life. It’s a feeling of simultaneous exhilaration and euphoria. I think first and foremost, that’s why I create; to feel the joy of painstakingly bringing something into the world that did not exist when I started. That is why I gravitate towards materials like colored pencils, wax pastels and markers. They require layers upon layers to develop and perfect shape, color and form.
My subject matter is where I tend to let go a bit. I revel in displaying objects or scenarios that really shouldn’t exist together, but somehow complete one another. Soft and hard, sweet and terrifying, innocent and tarnished. Images that borderline on the uncomfortable, but still feel cohesive and unified.
My pieces tell a story, but not the whole story. They are windows into certain glimpses in a narrative that is already in play. Visions of things you catch out of the corner of your eye, but cannot be sure are real or merely ghosts of your imagination.
