The scenes from Canandaigua and the Finger Lakes area that Ann Carver is known for today are very different from the landmark picture she created in first grade, the one that signaled to her that she would be an artist for life.
“It was a picture of a mother standing at an ironing board with a small child playing in front of the ironing board,” said Ann in a recent story in the Ontario County Connection. “I remember that picture very vividly, and it was probably my first recollection of ‘being an artist.’”
Even though kids and a job took priority over painting for many years, Ann returned to art when she retired. By attending workshops held by well-known artists, she not only received practical help, she developed her own style.
Since Ann and her husband moved to the Finger Lakes from western New York in 1989, she has developed a large following. For the past 11 years, her watercolors and oils have been displayed at Canandaigua’s Gallery on Main Street. She was the gallery’s best-seller.
Ann recently decided to move her paintings from Main Street to a gallery in her home in Canandaigua. Some of her most popular subjects are scenes from that lakeside city: Sonnenberg Gardens, Squaw Island and The City Pier. There was a time when she would travel with her easel down a back country road and set up to paint whatever caught her eye. In this day and age however, she feels that the seclusion has become dangerous for a lone artist. Instead, she works from digital photos she takes of scenes she wants to paint. Winter Sunrise was created from just such a photo, taken by friends at a favorite spot on Canandaigua Lake.
Recent exhibits include the Artists’ Cooperative Gallery, the Ontario County Historical Society, the Batavia Art Society National Show and the Ontario County Women in the Arts show, where her painting was chosen for the exhibit’s poster and invitational note card.
In her spare time, she makes quilts and all her own clothes.
Ann’s paintings, cards and prints are on display and available at her gallery at 259 Crabapple Drive, Canandaigua, by appointment. She may be reached at 585-394-7961. Commissions for house, pet portraits or paintings from your photos are welcome.
