Please introduce yourself and your art medium.
Hi, I’m Ann Ranlett, a scratchboard artist. I’m a Master member of the International Society of Scratchboard artists. I “draw white with a knife and scratch in public.”
What is the most challenging aspect of being an artist?
Time management is probably the most challenging. Finding time to sit down and focus on art when I work from home isn’t easy for me. I think I’m probably a bit ADD and can be easily distracted by other things that catch my attention. Today though, I’m very focused – answering these questions, scanning a completed piece of work, making some social media posts, and eventually, I’ll get back to actually working on a drawing. As you see from today’s list of things, there’s more to art than just the creation of it. To be a successful artist, you have to wear many hats.
What do you hope viewers take away from your artwork?
I want them to see my connection with my subjects (animals), but also to take a closer look to see that my work is not photography! Many people don’t realize that my work is highly detailed drawings, or even know what scratchboard is. That’s one of the reasons why I like working my shifts at the Gallery, so I can explain the scratchboard technique & my methods. I also demo at most events so visitors can see the process.
Are you an early bird or a night owl?
Definitely a night owl. Stay up late, get up late, get going.
What role does experimentation play in your creative process?
To be honest, I don’t experiment all that much, I have the process dialed in to a point where it works really well for me. However, I will play around with compositions in ways that might be different, or to come up with a new way to frame something. Friends have a plasma cutter, so we’ve made a couple of fun collaborative works where the scratchboard is framed with metal.
If you could take a week off from your regular life to immerse yourself in learning something new, what would it be?
To learn to play an instrument. I took piano lessons as a kid but never pursued it further. I have always wanted to learn to play bass guitar! Banjo might also be fun.
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Read Ann’s previous interview here.
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