Visit the Whimsical West of Ans Carnes 

Ans is known for colorful, large format hummingbird portraits that capture the energy and movements of her subjects. Her joyful paintings aim to reflect the character of her human models, birds and other critters in their full life and beauty. 

She is a a contemporary figurative oil painter from Germany living in the mountains of Arizona. Having grown up with the Old Masters in Europe she appreciates the dedication needed to portray from life in fine detail, while breaking the confines of tight realism with bold brush strokes and textures. Her large scale paintings often combine human or animal portraits and dynamic brush strokes as forceful elements around a still center, forming a mesmerizing composition.

'I love color and movement. It’s my passion to transport the vibrant energy of my subjects and to paint the life into my art, instead of just painting from life, or apart from it.  I think it's a privilege to create something of beauty, and an honor to bring it into someone’s home. I want to I want to explore my gift and skills to my best level to offer something that's not only bright and uplifting, but also alive and engaging. My 22 years of drawing and painting allow a certain skillset displayed in realism, but I think an artist can aim to offer more than that: originality and character. Originality is achieved by inspiration, and character is captured by somehow pouring life into art. From this thought comes my quest for the interplay of polarities: a serene focus point surrounded by movement, a soft portrait contrasted by strong texture, the tiny feathers and expressive eyes of a bird framed by energetic brushwork. I draw great joy from this quest, and I hope to pass it on in my art'.  

Ans works with wet-in-wet techniques as well as glazing and layering. She is excited to find new ways to express the designs and concepts forming in her mind. Experimenting with luminous layers she ventured from traditionally glazed oil paints to levels of painted layers on separated substrates. She then explored a new technique to translate these paintings into sculptures using a mix of plexiglass, acrylic coating, metal, and other materials. Her bright, semi-transparent sculptures can be seen in person at the Arizona Fine Art Expo Scottsdale January through March. 

Bio 

Ans was born in pretty Bavaria, Germany, between rivers, castles and vineyards, and has lived in various states and continents before settling down in Arizona. Before pursuing oil painting and sculpting she had started her career in Germany as an illustrator and media designer, layouting and drawing comic characters after finishing art school. Later she decided to transfer her designs to skin. She worked as a tattoo artist and lived in various US states starting in 2010 and for 2 1/2 years in Tokyo, Japan. Visiting exhibitions in Asia (Singapore, Thailand and Japan) and learning from her local fellow artist friends proved to be an invigorating experience.

Also, very unexpectedly, in Japan she found herself called to be a Christian. Her faith brought a new focus point to her love and appreciation for both nature and fellow human beings, and with that, to her art. With a new mind and world view came new inspiration and application, and her career started to explore the fine arts on another level. 

Coming back to the US from Japan she settled in Prescott, Arizona in 2016. In this beautiful small mountain town Ans now enjoys painting, exploring and sculpting in her studio, overlooking the pine forest and hills surrounding Prescott from 6800 foot elevation. Her husband Matthew is her adventurous companion, hiking buddy, spiritual guide, dirt bike instructor, and a passionate supporter of her art.

'Joy is incomplete unless it is expressed' C.S. Lewis

‘Nothing sublimely artistic has arisen out of mere art... there must always be a rich, moral soil for any great artistic work’ G.K. Chesterton