I chose this artist as one of the five artists to interview because I love the contrast of the harsh black shes uses, it works really well in her pieces. The bold style of her work makes it pop against the textures and colours she uses. I also love the aspect of surrealism in her work, it gives it the perfect twist. The added textures and detail really makes her work pop. A personal favourite of mine is her faith 2.0. I resonated most with this one as I love the energy the smashed glass texture gives, and it really captures your eye with the scorpion being the main feature of this piece. Although I do also find the staircase in ‘wilde wilten’ a very perfect surrealistic feature in this piece, and it really draws me in to view the art and the details even more. You can find these two amazing artworks here (each link is a different art piece of her work).

Ann has also just got involved with the NFT space, she’s a beautiful part of the community and really fits as an artist. Here recent artwork she did is phenomenal. It has so much emotion and detail in it, it is one of Anns newest pieces she has recently minted, to check it out go to foundation.

What got you started on art?

I’ve always been drawing and doodling as long as I can remember. There was no specific event, but my dad always supported me by giving me the right tools at hand. I remember drawing on his computer in Microsoft Paint for hours as a kid, and he gave me a lot of art supplies. We would often draw together or make plaster figures that we then painted. Later he gave me his old Nikon camera and I shot tons and tons of films with it. Creating is something I do everyday without really thinking about it.

Where does your inspiration come from?

From within and from the outside world. I grew up with divorced parents in difficult family dynamics and it caused tensions. Like many teenagers I struggled with panic attacks and depression, art was an outlet and a way to process these things. It’s my way of moving forward and turning struggles into  productivity. That’s why my art usually revolves around topics like womanhood, identity and transformation. I also love watching my surroundings and other people. Life tells the best stories, you just gotta know where to look.

Have you always been a digital artist?

Not at all. I’m a haptic person, I enjoy being in direct contact with the medium and my tools. I did a lot of screen printing, pottery and mixed media sculptures growing up and I enjoyed getting my hands dirty in the process.

It took time to feel content with the idea of making digital art, at first I was sceptical about the look and feel of it. It looked “too clean” to me. But eventually the benefits had me convinced. My outcome has more than doubled since I create digitally. It saves time and money (and a lot of paper). I also travel a lot so I like to keep my possessions to a minimum. My biggest helpers today are my iPad and my Kindle.

What is your favourite art style? And Why?

Too many. My own art can be very eclectic, so naturally I enjoy a variety of art styles. Big influences along the way have been street art, graphic novels, cartoons (mostly from the 90s Nickelodeon area), tattoo culture and the surrealist and dada movement.

Has the lockdown influenced you or your art in any way?

100%. Before lockdown I was working as a tattoo artist. I was planning to make more space for my own illustrations, but my days were booked with appointments. When the pandemic started, tattooing became impossible. All of a sudden I had a lot of free time, so I went back to illustration and started selling my work as NFTs. We have a German saying “luck in the unluck” and that’s what happened – NFTart enabled me to focus on my personal art and even make a living from it.

If you had to choose three words to describe the lockdown experience what would they be?

Blessing in disguise

Did you learn anything in 2020? About your art, the world or yourself?

2020 was the ultimate letdown to anything safe and controlled in my life. I lost my work as a tattoo artist, I lost my return flight to Germany (I’m an expat in Mexico City), I lost the feeling for security in my own body, not knowing what this strange new disease was and how it would affect us all. It was scary at first but then I had the best time spending my quarantine in Mexico. 2020 taught me to be grateful and to take the days as they come.

What is your focus for 2021?

Keep creating. I’m looking forward to finishing a lot of exciting projects and collaborations this year. Cryptoart and the community around it has big potential for upcoming artists and I’m planning to keep building this community together, raise awareness for NFTs and Cryptocurrencies and get more friends to join in.

This is a fantastic interview and as Ann states “Life tells the best stories, you just gotta know where to look”.  I just appreciate the way this artist looks out on life and uses it to influence her art. You can see her emotion and pain from recent events in life in her art, but i would definitely say in a positive way and I love that about Anns work. The way Anne says “2020 was the ultimate letdown to anything safe and controlled in my life. ” I feel this phrase, as i’m sure many will to but the beauty of this artist is she has found the light in a darker situation and I love this about her. If you want to see more of this artists work please check out Ann on twitter and instagram. Here you can connect and follow more of Anns journey.