No Negativity in a Passionate Process

The following is an excerpt of an interview of Anya McManis, painter, conducted by Mel. Edwards for the Votre Vray Creative Women Project.

What is your heaven on earth? Anya McManis’s version is painting. “It is a dream, a wish, that has come true.” Many of McManis’s graphic design clients may have no of idea the artistry that lives within Anya’s soul. When I asked her how she felt about being called an artist she said, “Now, I feel that that’s me. My father was a painter but he had to get ‘a real job’ instead of following an art career. For me, becoming comfortable with the term was a growing process, to finally realize that is who I am. Now, it resonates with me.”

So often, those of us who realize our creative path as a second career or a new found love born anew later in our adult lives, artists are often overly self-critical and fearful of putting our work, hearts and souls on the block for others to evaluate. I asked Anya if it was ever, often, or always a fearful process to put her work out there for the masses. “Surprisingly, no, not at all. I’ve always gotten a good reception, and that helps. I never had a fear because if I did what I loved, I felt I just had to do it. I enjoy it so much. There just is no negative. As I work, I’ve always felt I was becoming myself more than ever before.”

How does she balance a full-time graphic design business and her art? “Sometimes, it is not so easy. I’m very busy, but always looking, trying to find that balance. I ride my bike to the office, and try to get to the gym.” Still, her love for her art is so powerful, it is hard to imagine she wouldn’t be willing to live an unbalanced life for a long time just so that she can paint. “Deep inside there is more I can do with it, and I’ve looked into a (business) space that was more like a gallery in front. It can encourage others and help them get their art out there too. Remember, the process is the most rewarding part. Being in a creative zone, a space where you do your art, is just wonderful.”
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Anya can be found each day at her other creative passion: http://www.kreativekeystrokes.com/