A London-based abstract expressionist artist, Anna has a background in BA Design & MSc Applied Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology. She combines her love for creativity and her psychological background to host painting workshops  that are designed to help students discover the inner artist that lies within all of us; perfect for detaching from the everyday stresses of life in a relaxing and friendly environment.

We spoke to Anna all about her creative journey, how she fell in love with abstract painting, and what she loves about teaching her workshops.

(Author's note: Anna's answers have been edited for length and clarity)

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My first question is about where you got started, so when did you start painting and what drew you to it?

I’d been experimenting with finding what I wanted to do in life - looking for my purpose - for a while, and at first, I thought I’d found it with fashion design. But I soon realised that I was missing the creative aspect from it because it was very technical. So I ended up gravitating towards paints, but I was told I was on the wrong course for that and I needed to stick to pattern-making .. but I didn’t! (laughs) So after that, there was some more soul-searching as I tried to work out how I wanted to start painting. I really struggled then to find a style that suited me, from figurative to Picasso-inspired Cubist pieces, nothing seemed to feel right. So, to liberate myself, I started moving into making abstract pieces. I would start by throwing paint onto canvas; to break myself out of the boxes I’d put myself into trying to create something ‘good’.

I wanted to find the balance between having control in my work and feeling liberated at the same time and to use my creative process to reflect on my life. I did my Masters in Applied Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology really helped, because it meant I could do research in my area of interest - how to use art therapy to treat PTSD in abuse survivors - a background I come from. Throughout life everyone goes through trauma, and we all get beaten down emotionally in some way,  and I wanted to understand how to use art to heal myself and help others.


I love that approach of using art to heal, it’s such an interesting concept and one I think more people should be bringing into their lives.

It’s super needed now. I wanted to step away from the conventional sense of art therapy that’s designed by psychologists and with a pathological approach, and focus on helping people in the present and where they are today. I want people to be able to take as much as they need and work through things using their own process. In my sessions, I want to help people discover both their inner artist and learn more about themselves. It’s time for you, to not have to worry about anything else, and that’s something I emphasise at the beginning of my workshops. I encourage everyone to write out their intentions for the session and what they want to take from their artwork and the workshop so that people can be fully present.

An example of one of Anna's abstract pieces

You touched on the teaching aspect just now, but how did you find your way into teaching your abstract painting workshops? Was it hard for you to go from creating your own pieces to coaching others?

When I first started my Masters, it made me realise how hard it is sometimes to verbalise our feelings, and it can create a barrier for people to move forward in their lives. I found that art can be a really great medium to break down those barriers, and so I dipped my toe into teaching with some art coaching, I saw how much it helped people so I knew I was on the right path. It had helped me too, so it felt selfish to keep something all to myself I knew could help others!

In terms of Obby, how did you find us? And how are we helping you both as a teacher and a business owner?

When I first started my workshops, I signed up to so many places to list my sessions, but then I quickly realised it was too much hassle to keep everything updated! I wanted to focus on one site and Obby for me was the one I chose, it’s so easy to use and I don’t get lost in the software.

Now that I have so many locations where I have my workshops too, it’s nice to have separate listings where people can leave feedback about each location; it makes it super easy to build trust with my students and see what they thought about my sessions. You’re always improving and listening to my feedback too, and while it’s a small thing, it means a lot. I feel really taken care of, and as a one-woman business (laughs) it makes my life so much easier.


With your painting workshops, what do you feel is unique about them compared to other painting classes out there?

I think the way I bring positive psychology into my painting sessions is something very unique. There are lots of paint and sip classes out there, and I wanted to create an environment where people could come in and leave all their worries behind. I also wanted to find a middle ground, where there is some structure but also people have the freedom to create and explore. I apply this with the positive psychology approach too, that people can take what applies to them and leave what doesn’t! I also have my little challenges, like the colour challenge we’re going to do in our Instagram Live (you can watch it back here!) which are I feel are unique and something new.

My next question is all about inspiration, how do you maintain your own personal inspiration, and how do you pass that along to your students?

My inspirations are my moods and emotions, and that’s something that’s always there and always changing. Depending on how I feel on the day, and I say this to those coming along to my workshops too, colour can be something that reflects your mood; it can be something that uplifts you or that helps you get through the day. Moods are always evolving and changing, so that helps me stay inspired and keeps my students inspired too; especially on the days where they come along and don’t feel so upbeat, they’re able to look at what they’ve created in the workshop and feel uplifted and proud in what they’ve created.

You’ve touched a lot on wellbeing in the questions we’ve talked about, but in a broader sense, how do you feel you’re able to help people with their mental health and wellbeing?

The colour element definitely helps people to find their own connections with their emotions, and give them an outlet for them. Depending on what they need, the colours they choose can help them to amplify their positive mood or uplift them if they’re having a bad day. And by creating abstract pieces, it helps my students to find hidden parts of themselves they didn’t know they had. That’s something that we find harder to do as adults because as we grow out of being children we’re told that we’re not artists, and that we need to let go of our creativity. By engaging the creative side of our minds, we’re able to break out of our rigid ways of thinking and apply that to all parts of our life with a new perspective. I have an exercise which I do with students who are especially struggling with tapping into their creativity, which is getting them to write all the negative assumptions they have about their creative abilities and then making them rip the paper up! So they let go of all the pressure they have for their work to be perfect and just enjoy the creative process. There’s a lot of negativity and pain in the world, so it’s nice to be able to offer a space for my students to come in and recharge, and focus on their wellbeing.


My final question for you is for fellow creatives who are looking to start their own classes or their own businesses, what advice do you have for them?

Do it! Start doing it! The more you do something the better you’ll get at it. And don’t try to plan everything out in advance, there are so many moving parts you can’t predict, I’m still learning after every class and I reflect every time and find things I can tweak and change to make the experience even better. Start small, ask friends to help, and just get started!

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