Ann Robinson

Ann Robinson fell in love with watercolor painting in 1979 when she returned to college to study art, design & illustration. She studied art history and took additional watercolor classes as she completed her education in Commercial Design. By the time she finished college, her love of watercolor was deep and she has drawn and painted since.
Ann’s career in commercial interior and architectural design saw her creating space in an array of environments from medical and biomechanics facilities to restaurants and corporate offices. Some of her greatest experiences lead to work at The Grand Hotel, where she worked with esteemed New York designer, Carleton Varney.
After visiting the Art Institute of Chicago, Ann fell in love with the art of the Impressionists, particularly their use of light and space. Ann served on the board of the Lansing Art Gallery. There, artists Mark Mehaffey and Linda Kemp were pivotal in her development of style and technique.
She spent many years camping and exploring the outdoors in Michigan and on the East Coast, which sharpened her observations of Nature’s moods, colors, textures and shapes.
Since her retirement from design work, Ann has pursued her love of painting full time. She paints exclusively in watercolor, because of its independent character, its ability to capture “mood,” and its demanding personality.
Ann lives near Traverse City, focusing her painting on the environment, animals, flowers, and her much-loved Northern Michigan. She paints in her studio, surrounded by a nature preserve, but prefers Plein Air painting in most weather, except super cold (watercolors freeze)!
In 2016, she won the first Mission Point Lighthouse Friends competition for the Lighthouse Pinot Grigio label and her art was selected as the feature poster and art for the Suttons Bay Art Festival. In 2018, she was honored to create a mural for Bowers Harbor Vineyards marking their Twenty Five year history; a seven-month project covering one wall of their tasting room.
Ann was an award winner in the 2020 Women in Watercolor International Juried Competition in the Abstract Division. She also received two foundation scholarships, in 2018 and 2019, for art education and workshops.
Ann’s work is featured in galleries around Northwest Michigan and has participated in numerous solo and group shows throughout the region. Her commissioned works range from murals to pet portraits to landscapes. Her work is in collections in Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Virginia and Florida.