Ann Wallace

Contact Ann at AnnWallaceArt@aol.com or through her website at AnnWallaceArt.com

Ann Wallace holds a B.A. with a concentration in Art from the University of Massachusetts, a J.D. degree from Suffolk University Law School, and an L.L.M. from George Washington University School of Law. After law school, she worked as a criminal appellate attorney for the United States Department of Justice. At the same time, she continued to pursue art as a student at the Yellow Barn Studio in Glen Echo, Maryland. In 2001, she became a Yellow Barn Instructor teaching drawing and painting with oils, acrylics, gouache, and pastels. She continues to teach painting classes at Plaza Artists 

Materials in Rockville, Maryland. Along with two painting colleagues, she organized a “Paint to Cure” art event to benefit breast cancer research and “Paint Out and Party Down” to support the renovation of the Yellow Barn. 

Ann became a copyist at the National Gallery of Art in 2012 to improve her artwork through the time-honored practice of studying from the masters.  Painting in different styles using different color palettes and brushwork has been both challenging and rewarding.  

Ann paints immediately or directly—“au premier coup” (at first stroke) or “alla prima”(at first attempt). When approaching still life paintings, she believes that the selection and arrangement of objects reveal the presence of the artist. In her portraits, she attempts to go beyond the likeness and focuses on the perceived character of the individual. And, when she is out in nature, she tries to capture the essence of the place—the movement of the sky and water; the character of the rocks, land and trees; the intensity of the colors; and the transience of the light. She believes that a painting should not serve simply to showcase the technical prowess of the painter, but instead should allow the viewer to be an integral participant in the realization of the artist’s vision. Her awards include the Art League of Virginia Award and the Art League of Virginia Best in Show Pastel Award.