Anneliese Snider with a work in progress; photo by Laverne Kyriss
Overcoming challenges brings depth to art
LaVerne Kyriss
Anneliese Snider began painting in 1971. Her kids were in school and she joined a group of ladies in her neighborhood. One of the members served as the teacher. “We met in somebody’s garage once a week in Studio City, California,” she remembered. “In 1978, we moved to Thousand Oaks and I took art classes at the community college. As a child I designed dresses for paper dolls and I used sheets in my bedroom to create an entire house. When I grew up, I worked as an interior designer.”
In 1991 Snider’s world changed: “We lost everything in a fire, including our precious dog. We lived in a hotel for 14 months while the house was rebuilt, but I couldn’t stay in that house so we found a new one in Wood Ranch and lived there until 2004. After the fire, I couldn’t paint.”
That wasn’t the first time Anneliese started over. Her mother, a Czech, and her father, Austrian, emigrated to Columbia, South America, before World War II. That’s where Anneliese and her brother grew up. “My parents sent my brother to college in Los Angeles. I also wanted to come to America so when I was 18 I moved to the States. He arranged for me to rent a room from an older woman but I didn’t want to live with someone I didn’t know. So we rented an apartment to share; I got my green card and got a job in a bank and I’ve been here ever since.”
In 2005 Anneliese, now divorced, moved to SaddleBrooke at the urging of a friend. “I even stayed with her while my house was being built. I decided to try painting again and joined the SaddleBrooke Fine Arts Guild. “I took classes from several teachers and learned a lot. I have much better balance and perspective today. It’s too bad I don’t have my earlier work to compare.”
“In art class I’m the rebel,” she admitted. “I paint what I feel and not necessarily what’s assigned. I get ideas from magazines, art books, and the world around me, even the Internet. I see what catches my eye and then go from there. I like to paint animals, doors and flowers. One portrait of a girl burned in the fire and I haven’t tackled portraits since. But now I’m ready to take a portrait class.”
Anneliese reflected that what she likes most about painting is getting lost in the work. “I don’t hear anything. I’m in my own world. I like the creative process. It’s challenging when things don’t come together the way I want them to, so I keep at it until I succeed.”
She explained that she often starts a painting with acrylics and then continues with oils on top. “This gives you a lot of depth and I can paint over it to correct what’s not working. I paint for myself and to give to my family and friends, so there’s no deadline. When it’s done, it’s done.”