In the development of her current series, Annette Hammer has seen a progression over the years in developing paintings that draw the viewer into the scene, creating multifaceted work. What started out as a one time need for a wall painting became a passion to create within the medium of oils. After many years of painting study, including exploring different mediums, she returned to oils and graduated Magna Cum Laude from University of Southern California with a bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Ms. Hammer also has an A.S. Degree in Commercial Art and an A.A. degree in Photography from Ventura College in California. Personal art study has been accomplished with many fine artists including Gerd Koch, Richard Phelps, Neal Boyle, Dorothy Orr, Glen Orbik, Hiroko Yoshimoto, and Norman Kirk.
Elements that are of particular interest in Ms. Hammer’s paintings are the landscape in all its diversity, incorporating oaks, mountains and valleys, vineyards, cattle and horses that have played such a large part of our country’s development, and water, from small streams to the vast oceans that border the coast, scenes that transcend time. Ms. Hammer’s work is appreciated by many diverse clients who have commissioned her to paint seascapes, landscapes, and even an under water tide pool mural for the Wrigley Marine Institute at Two Harbours on Catalina Island, California.
Ms. Hammer has participated in paint-outs sponsored by the Autry Museum Masters program and the California Art Club. Awards include Best of Show at the Big Four Art Festival in Louisville, KY, at the San Dimas National Western Art Exhibition, and the La Jolla Festival of Arts, and 2 years from the Santa Monica Sports & Arts Festival, also receiving the Special Seascape award. She also was awarded an Award of Excellence at the Great Gulf Coast Arts Festival in Pensacola, FL. Ms. Hammer was the first artist to be chosen by the Carnegie Art Museum in Oxnard, CA to be featured in their ongoing “Masters in Our Midst” series.
Ms. Hammer has had a diverse career path, starting with raising 6 children while studying painting and related design and composition. She worked as an artist for Nickelodeon Animation Studio, and Digital Insight – a startup company designing web pages. Ms. Hammer also taught for 7 years at Santa Monica college in Califo in the graphics department, teaching illustration, markers and core design classes. Ms. Hammer has been painting for over 50 years. Her body of work may be viewed at: annettehammerart.com. “My objective is to capture the essence of the moment, the beauty of the surrounding world, that may be fleeting and not otherwise noticed, scenes that change from day to day as we interact with our environment.”
I have had a love for the landscape since I was a child accompanying my father, an agriculture teacher, visiting his student’s projects, driving the back roads in the San Joaquin Valley of California. The central focus of my work is the landscape in contemporary realism form. There is a complexity found in each scene that is simplified to some extent, at the same time retaining the essence of the place at hand by incorporating many layers of paint that play hide and seek with depth of field and detail. The use of impressionistic brush strokes combined with the discipline of representation, brings each work to an exciting combination of turbulence and order. Viewers are prompted to think about their own relationship with nature, discovering a shared past with the artist, allowing the viewer to recall their own experiences with the natural world. The combination of critical observation, personal appreciation for the idea and skilled application of paint completes the final work.
