Meet one of our newer members, AnnieKate Phillips. AnnieKate has been a resident of Rockwall/Heath since 2001, having relocated from Corpus Christi and subsequently from Plano. Asked who she is, she replies:
“A tree hugging creative who thrives on yoga, art supplies, and early morning sunrises in my garden. “I’ve been an artist since I was a child. Middle and High School art, and private watercolor lessons in my late teens prepared me to major in art in college. However, my father, an atomic physicist, believed ‘artist’ was too close to ‘hippie’. I’m not paying college tuition for you to be a hippie, he declared. So I dropped out of college and moved to California and then Colorado to be a hippie. “While still an uneducated hippie, I moved to Rockport, Texas and lived for 10 years aboard a 33’ sailboat named ChoChoSan. Then I met and married my husband, Robert, another sailor, and went back to college at A&M Corpus Christi and received my BFA (1989). In 1993, we moved to Plano for Robert’s career, and I enrolled at TWU in Denton, where I earned my MFA in painting and fiber arts in 1999. “On day, my favorite drawing teachers said to the class, “In ten years, only one of you will still be making art. It’s not easy.” I remember saying to myself at that moment, “I will be that one.” And I’m proud to say I am. “I create pet portraits by commission, and I paint in oils, watercolors and pastels for pleasure. I have a wonderful tiny studio in the loft of my home in Chandler’s Landing, with north facing windows and a clutter of unique little talismans and treasures. I am delighted to be student again, taking classes in pastel from RAL member, Calonnie Gragg. “I also teach art in my home on Wednesday afternoons … and teach gentle Hatha yoga in my home yoga studio Tuesday-Friday. Yoga has been a life saver for me, and I consider it responsible for pulling me through years of struggle with paralyzing depression. This is not your daughter’s hot yoga or aerobic yoga, but slow, steady mindful movement, listening to the voice of the body. “My other activities include my great affection for my dogs and all of Nature. I love to garden and this year, my garden has been my largest work of art ever. I hate to cook, love to write creative fiction and poetry, and adore all things Celtic, from jewelry to the study of Welsh mythology, and Celtic spirituality. I look forward to being active in RAL, sharing in workshops and the workshop committee. Unfortunately, I teach at all the times for the Studio Days. I love to paint with others, as it brings back wonderful memories of art school, a very prolific and inspiring time in my life. It’s a long story, but I paint under the name Kate Nicholson:, and many people know me as AnnieKate Phillips. My website is: https://knicholson403.wixsite.com/gallery-k-nicholson
