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As we age, life seems to move more quickly. The days fly by, the weeks turn into months and the years slip by. This past year brought many changes. Caring for my 99 year old father until he passed on January 1, seemed long and endless but in the space of a week he was gone. Less than two months later my husband had surgery that he never recovered from. What seemed like forever was over in two ( I can’t say short) months. How quickly life changes has propelled me to move forward. There is little time to waste. 

Needless to say, painting took a backseat to other responsibilities yet it was always there to escape from those responsibilities if only for a few stolen moments. I was able to find some quiet moments painting en pleinair as the overwhelming stress swirled around me.

The days are brighter, perhaps a little longer; but still fly by and quickly turn into weeks and months. I look forward to finding joy in capturing life’s special moments and moving ahead one step at a time. 
xo ann

I am deeply honored to the featured artist in Cape Fear Living Magazine. Sara Beck is a most talented writer who made sense of my jumbled thoughts to present a wonderful, thoughtful article. I am sincerely grateful  for this honor. Please click on the link to see my story.
https://www.capefearliving.com/post/chasing-light-and-community-the-artistic-journey-of-ann-hair?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1A-cGC5BUGuIZLRqpEmgG9TPDhwTo923ym7wpoRHNi3zNaAiIvlBtDsIA_aem_RDwAR9wqV0pwkTRhOIT0-g

There’s a new gallery in town. Under the direction of Leping Beck, Fine Art Local has been born. This gallery model is a hybrid combining a physical gallery space with an extensive online gallery as well.The grand opening s February 28th 4-6 pm at 200 Willard Street, Wilmington, NC. I do hope you’ll stop in to Fine Art Local or check out our online gallery at www.fineartlocal.com

As the holiday season approaches, all kinds of opportunities to show my paintings and offer them for sale have presented themselves. Most exciting is "Sweet September" was accepted into the American Impressionists Online Show. This is a national show and I am honored to have been accepted. This painting is 20x20 and is available on my website., www.annhair.com

Next, I will be entering Randee Higbee's annual 6x6 show. This will be an online show with all works measuring 6x6. This show opens December 1st and all work can be viewed at OnlineGalleryShows.com.

Locally, The ArtWorks will showcase a Small Works Show. This is a great opportunity to purchase small paintings at a reduced price for someone special. Original fine art makes a wonderful gift for everyone on your list. Hope you'll visit The ArtWorks during the holiday season. They are at 200 Willard St., Wilmington, NC 28401

City Art Gallery in Greenville, NC opened their annual Holiday Show on November the 16th. Many new wonderful works by gallery artists are on display and ready to find the perfect home. If you are in the Greenville area, stop in and visit. They are located at 511 Red Banks Rd, Greenville, NC 27858 or check out their website, www.cityartgreenville.com. I am listed under "Painters". 

The Art League of Leland is hosting a show called "Ultramarine" at the Leland Cultural Arts Center. I am please to say that 2 of my paintings, "Dancing in the Moonlight" and  "Sunflowers in Blue" are included in this show. It opens the 7th of December. The Leland Cultural Arts Center is located at 1212 Magnolia Village Way, Leland, NC 28451.

All these paintings are available on my website in the "New Work" section. I hope you will visit one of these shows or visit my website and pick out something special for someone special. 

I hope you'll follow me on Facebook@Ann Krol Hair or Instagram@ahair51. Most of my new work is posted to these sights and you can be the first to know about paintings "fresh off the easel". 

Thanks for following along on my artist's journey. Wishing you and yours a wonderful Thanksgiving and all the blessings of the Holiday Seasons!

   The weather was HOT and steamy as it usually is for Pleinair Easton. This is the top pleinair event in the country and is always held in late July. Top artists vie for one of the 55 spots available. Congratulations to the competition artists and award winners. They paint for a week and the show culminates in large prizes and many sales.

   Saturday morning is the Quick Draw. Over 200 artists pick their spot and vigorously paint for 2 hours. After framing, the artists set up on the Main Street hoping to win a prize or sell their painting. 
   Gale Smith, Karen Crenshaw and I participated in the Quick Draw for a second time. The last time was 9 years ago. This year, it was in the 80’s with a gentle breeze. Still hot but not unbearable. We had a great time and Karen sold her painting. 
   We stayed at a farm house about 5 minutes from Easton. We enjoyed sunsets over the Choptank River. Thanks Karen and family for sharing this special place. We also visited Tilghman Island and feasted on crabs in St. Michaels, MD. I gathered photo inspiration for future paintings and I can’t wait to start on them. 
    So glad we were able to attend this event again. My painting is “Morning Glory” 8x10 oil is available on my website!

   I usually take the month of December off from painting to focus on holiday preparations and family. This year, I committed to do a painting for the production of “Elf, the Musical”. The Community Foundation of NC sponsors this production to benefit “Make a Wish”. The CEO of The Community Foundation of NC approached me with her vision of a large painting of Buddy, the elf that will be raffled off to contributors who donate to the foundation, proceeds go to Make a Wish. 
    Several weeks ago, I met with the Elf to do a quick photo shoot in costume. Then started the task of creating the big elf painting. I love painting figures so this was  fun to capture. 
   If you are in Wilmington, check out the Thalian Hall website for tickets to this holiday event. It’s sure to be a great time and benefits Make A Wish! If you are so inclined, donate to the Community Foundation of NC and you’ll have a chance to win this beautiful painting!

   When the sun shines in January, I look forward to the promise of spring. Skies are bluer, colors are brighter, the air is clearer and warmer. Though we have a ways to go before spring, I see hope and am compelled to move forward. Since this pandemic started almost a year ago, our lives have been put on hold and I feel like I'm holding my breath. 

   As an artist, I spent a lot of time working in the studio but that motivation quickly waned. Moving forward, I'm hoping that everything that was cancelled will happen this year. There are shows to enter, decisions to be made, changes and taking steps forward. One of those forward steps was taking advantage of an invitation to be featured in SouthWest Art's landscape issue. I almost talked myself out of it for a number of reasons but I'm glad I took the steps to be featured in the February issue. The deadline was in early Dec. and I didn't have a landscape painting I liked so I took a step and got busy. "Cotton Pickin Time" is a painting of a late in the day cotton field I came upon in October in eastern NC. Getting the image and written material in on time was another obstacle but I took it one step at a time. I'm excited to see my work in a national magazine for the very first time!

   As we look forward to being free of this pandemic and look to the promise of spring, don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and take advantage of opportunities that present themselves. If you're so inclined, pick up a copy of the February issue of SouthWest Art and check out my work on page 77. "Cotton Pickin Time" is available on my website at www.annhair.com. And while you’re there, look around and see if there’s something you love. ❤️

   For the third time, in mid October, I was fortunate to attend a week long artist’s retreat on Ocracoke. Ocracoke is an island on the outer banks off the coast of North Carolina. It is unspoiled in it’s beauty with marshes, inlets, sand dunes, the ocean and maritime forests. Ocracoke sits at sea level and last year in September they suffered terrible destruction when a wave of 12 feet of water swept across the island.  Homes were flooded, cars destroyed and businesses suffered terrible loss. The strength, resiliency and lots of hard work was evident when we arrived over a year later.  Getting there is no small feat with limited ferries due to COVID and dredging of the inlet, it was a lesson in planning, patience and flexibility. After a three hour drive, we boarded a ferry that would arrive 2 1/2 hrs. later at our destination.
   We arrived late on a Sunday to find the perfect house that we had rented sight unseen. It was in the perfect location with views and access to Silver Lake. The famous Ocracoke lighthouse was a short walk away and we even had a food truck parked nearby. We explored, painted, shopped, dined and enjoyed sunrises and sunsets. We renewed acquaintances with local residents and met many new folks that live and vacation on this special island. 
   Many came out to our art show and sale and because of their generous purchases, we were able to give a sizable donation to the Ocracoke Health Clinic. 7 artists from various NC locales participated. 
   While exploring the island we encountered a flock of ibis. I first saw this breed of bird in Florida and was drawn to their unique beauty. They are pretty white birds with bright, coral colored legs and a long curved, coral beak. I’ve noticed a few the past few years in NC but this was the largest flock I've encountered. About 20 would move from one grassy location to another. They are shy and quiet and will slowly move away if you approach. On our day of departure, the flock was hanging out near the ferry terminal. I slowly approached and sat down to observe these unusual creatures. I found them fascinating and was delighted that I captured a few as they took flight.

   The beauty of Ocracoke is evident in the magical sunrises and warm sunsets and in the mystical coastal ibis. God willing, we will return next October to try to capture the beauty of Ocracoke again! 

   “It was a dark and stormy night”...that’s the beginning of the narrative of my most recent Sunday Sunrise painting. Some of you know that I’m a volunteer with the Wightsville Beach Sea Turtle Project. Part of my responsibilities is to walk alternating Sundays at my section of the beach during sea turtle nesting season. From May through September I look for telltale tracks of a nesting sea turtle momma. This is my fourth year and I haven’t found the tracks yet but it gives me the opportunity to experience all the different sunrises over the ocean.
   Last Sunday, I didn’t sleep well as the early morning hours were punctuated by rumbles of thunder and flashes of lightening. I worried all night that I wouldn’t be able to fulfill my obligation. I couldn’t be walking the beach during a lightening storm but knew I was obliged to scan the beach to identify and mark any nesting activity. Sea Turtles are endangered and I volunteer because I care about playing a small part in their survival. Before sunrise, I headed to the the beach and although there were flashes of lightening offshore, it was just drizzling. I headed onto the beach and because of the clouds, it was darker than usual. I never did see the sunrise but saw color peeking between the clouds. Unlike the usual brilliant sunrises I usually see, this one was most dramatic in the heavy cloud cover.

   As an artist, my story telling takes on a visual form.  I hope “Sunday Sunrise 4”  tells the story of a stormy morning on the ocean. This is fourth in a series of sunrise paintings and available on my website. By the way, I didn’t find sea turtle tracks but I remain hopeful!

   As we still cautiously venture out into our world riddled with Covid-19, protests against racism and civil unrest, I am trying to capture some joy in painting again. Recently, I ventured to Bald Head Island to deliver work and paint for an afternoon en pleinair. Wearing a mask, sanitizing surfaces and being aware of all precautions require stamina. It's worth it!

   Last week, I attended a pleinair workshop with Perry Austin. It felt wonderful to be around other artists learning. Again, social distancing was a conscious effort. Worth it!!! So good for my mental health. My fellow artists were inspiring.

   Took a little road trip to Greenville to deliver new work to City Art Gallery. Had a quick bite and viewed paintings by a dear friend and very talented artist, Dodi Groesser.  She and her fun hubby, John joined for lunch. Again, we were aware of social distancing, and carefully venturing into a restaurant where the tables were far apart. So worth it!!!

   As we continue to take back little bits of normalcy, I am completely aware of the precautions we must take as we take baby steps into our troubled world. Worth it!

www.annhair.com

The last time I wrote about gratitude was after the area I live in survived Hurricane Florence in September 2018. This decade started out full of promise and quickly turned into the biggest challenge our nation has ever faced. The highly infectious, deadly and terrifying Corona virus, COVID 19 shut our world down.  People were forced to stay home. Social distancing became the new word of the decade. After 8-10 long weeks, we are finally, carefully emerging from our isolation.

Here again is a list of all I am grateful for:

I am filled with gratitude for the continued good health of family and friends. I am grateful for my precious granddaughter who is growing and healthy at 6 months old.

We have weathered this storm in a warm home and have not gone hungry (I'm sooo sick of cooking!).

I have been able to fill my early days with Netflix and later painted, painted, painted in the hopes that galleries would need new work (someday). I am grateful for the galleries who show my work; they have been so creative in marketing us and our work during this major shutdown. They have continued to sell art!  Amazing...that's how I describe what they have done these past few months. Thank you to the collectors who continue to support and buy my work.  

I am grateful for ZOOM meetings and critiques. They have helped me move forward.

I'm impressed and inspired by how creative people are in creating drive by celebrations. It feels so good to celebrate life moments even at a distance.

I use the hashtag #luckiestgirlyouknow and I do feel that I am. God has blessed me and is pulling us out of the abyss. I walked on the beach today looking for sea turtle tracks. The sun rises every day and I'm am grateful to rise and great each new day.

After we weathered the hurricane, the word "Resilience" came to mind at every turn. Again,we are a resilient nation.  We will emerge stronger and by the grace of God, we have survived. Always, I am in gratitude!