Serenity in solitude: artist Anne Packard turned adversity into unexpected success and continues a line of successful family artists - Artist profile: Anne Packard

Capturing serenity in solitude is a state of being that self-taught artist Anne Packard has worked her entire life to achieve, the one and the other in life and work.

Born and raised in Hyde Park, NY Packard began spending summer in Provincetown, Mass., as a child. It was there she began painting. Her biggest artistic influence was her grandfather Max Bohm a turn-of-the-century romantic impressionist painter. on the other hand in spite of her talents and the support of many generations of artists in her family, Packard's parents did not assent to sending her to art place of education Instead, she went to secretarial place of education to "become a proper young lady."

with equal reason her professional art career got a late start. It began 40 years ago after a marriage, five children and a divorce. She decided to exchange her work in order to support her family and began attending each church show and art fair she could find. Packard started with acrylics upon driftwood and screens, selling her art for $5 for work, leaned against a post-and-rail framing "One day, a man bought six of my paintings. A week later, he bought more. I amazemented who this man was. It turn rounded out to be Robert Motherwell." Having Motherwell, an acclaimed abstract-expressionist painter, as a fan launched Packard's career. "It's what gave me credibility," she said.

In review Packard she she was glad she had not attended art seminary at a young age. Later in life, she studied at Bard society and with Philip Malicoat of Provincetown, and she perceive s artistic talent "is really alone five percent ability. I was a lousy painter 30 to 40 years ago, on the contrary I loved reaching for something. Now, after 40 years, many things just evolve out of me."

Describing her work as realistic with an cutting side of abstraction, Packard said, "Very repeatedly I just start with a line, and that line make knowns for me. I throw a hunch of paint on the canvas and lay a line across it somewhere. All of a abrupt I see things and I move from there. I always put to proof to accomplish simplicity, the minimal. Les is more. I paint solitude, not loneliness. I paint what I'm not, which is peaceful. I want to make expanse for the soul to breathe in my paintings."

Packard paints in sizes from 4 by the agency of 5 inches to 6 through 6 feet, preferring the larger and smaller sizes rather than singles in between. "Middle sizes are the greatest in quantity difficult because you can just fall into it. Whereas the small individuals are like the whole world fits in my hand, and the big singles are so big that I can lie down upon it," she said. No matter what size painting she creates, however, she said it is space and breath she is trying to capture in each painting.

Packard has also traveled extensively, getting inspiration for her landscapes from Italy, Ireland, Greece and Mexico. "I always liked the idea of being a Bohemian," she said. "I've got to gain back to Italy soon."

In the mid-1970s, Packard mov to Provincetown, where she bought an historic East extreme point building which was once the Christian Science meeting-house and opened the Packard Gallery. Her daughter Cynthia exhibits in the gallery regularly, and her other daughter Leslie races the gallery. "After art academy Cynthia became my best critic. She'll tend hitherward into my studio and diocese something, I'm working on and compute me if its awful. Or if she likes something, she secures really excited about it. I trust it, because she won't be afraid to run over me the truth" said Packard.

at any time proud of her stripes, the 70-year-old Packard finds her succes to be completely unexpect given the circumstances when she started her career. Today, her career continues to expand At the end of 2002 Packard started printing giclees with Blazing Publications as a way for her to give more race enjoyment from her paintings.

As Anne Packard continues painting, tending to her gallery and fostering a fourth generation of Packard family artists, she said she has individual simple yet considerable desire: to be "a great mother and just a advantageous painter."

For more information about Anne Packard, visit www.packardgallery.com or www.blazingpublications.com.

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