‘My days are filled with art and happiness,” says Ann

A local artist will auction one of her stunning collage portraits for Ukraine at the opening night of an art exhibition in Athlone this week.

Ann Mitchell, who is originally from Offaly but spent 35 years living and working in Athlone, has been making waves in the art world with her breathtaking collage portraits despite being what she describes as “a bit of a late convert”.

As she approaches her 61st birthday next month, she admits to being “over the moon” at having finally discovering her real niche in life, and admits that from the moment she wakes up until she goes to bed she thinks about her art. “My days are filled with art and happiness,” says the mixed media artist, whose work will be exhibited at an upcoming art exhibition in The Village @ Burgess on Lloyd's Lane.

The exhibition, which runs for a month, will have its opening night this Friday, June 29, from 6pm to 7.30pm in The Village @ Burgess, and Ann Mitchell, who works under the name of AnnieMae Art, will auction one of her large statement limited edition 30 x 40 inch prints called ‘Bliss,’ with all proceeds from the raffle going to Ukraine.

The daughter of Niall and the late Bridie Mitchell from Gallen in Ferbane, Ann comes from a very creative family with her sister, Caroline, a million-selling author and another sister, Louise, working as a landscape artist. Having finally found her own calling as an artist, she is hugely motivated and focused and hopes to be able to make a living as a full-time artist over the coming years.

Ann Mitchell spent 35 very happy years working in Athlone as a social care worker and also as a personal trainer in Shannonside Gym, and it was only after her retirement that she started making mosaics. “I was grinding tiny pieces of glass with a grinder to create my mosaics for about five years and people used to think I was a bit mad,” she laughs.

“Looking back on my life I suppose I was always creative, I love gardening, knitting, working with stained glass, and I was always good with my hands, so the art was always inside of me somewhere,” she says.

However, the experience of having a son who has battled with a chronic condition all his life influenced Ann to pour her “heart and soul” into her art, and she admits that the “very first portrait” she created was of her son, Darren, who is now 36 years old.

“I have always loved mixed media, so I combined mixed media with collage to come up with my own unique style, and I try to convey the whole range of the human condition through my work,” she explains.

Having observed her son overcome many setbacks and display remarkable resilience and strength throughout his life, Ann Mitchell refers to him as her “true warrior” and says he has been “a real inspiration” for her in her work. She also has another son, Jason, who is 35, and she says she is “very proud” of both her sons.

It takes at least a month for Ann Mitchell to create a single 30 x 40 inch painting and she begins the process by drawing a sketch. She then places collage over the sketch, after which she begins the intricate and very time-consuming job of “painting into” the collage using a mix of acrylics, pen, ink and gold leaf to create the finished masterpiece. The entire process is complete when she has sealed and varnished each painting.

“When I finish one piece I am already thinking about the next piece,” she says, “and my head is always buzzing with ideas, I am absolutely thrilled to have found my niche in life, and I honestly couldn’t be happier.”

Ann lives with her partner, William, in the family home where she grew up in Gallen, and is delighted to have the opportunity to create art all day. “I make art all day long, and I have to try to squeeze other things into my day, but it is my art that makes me truly happy” she says.

Although she is a relatively new name in the art world, Ann Mitchell has already exhibited her work in a number of galleries around the country, including the Split Space Art Joint in Tullamore, the Chimera Gallery in Mullingar, the Luan Gallery in Athlone and also in the Tilehouse in Donegal. She is currently preparing to take her unique artistic style to Galway for her first solo art exhibition at the Renzo Gallery and Café in April 2023.

Working under the name of AnnieMae Art, Ann Mitchell says each of her paintings is “made with love” and she focuses on many aspects of the human condition in her work, such as beauty, pain, hope, strength, resilience and overcoming adversity. “Art is how I express what it means to be human, the vulnerability, strength and resilience that we as humans possess” she says, adding that, for her, “art is healing”.

Ann Mitchell’s upcoming exhibition in The Village @ Burgess in Athlone is titled 'RAW', and her striking portraits, which feature a kaleidoscope of colour, will focus on the themes of pain, beauty, strength and hope. She will share the exhibition with another artist, Michael Rodgers.

A selection of her 'Goddess' paintings, which incorporate dream-like saturated colours and textures, and have captivated everyone who has seen them, are available in limited edition fine art prints in a variety of sizes, and can be supplied framed or unframed.

“I can’t even express how happy I am to spend every day of my life making art,” says the grateful and talented local artist. “It really is a dream come true.”