Artist Ashleigh Anderson
“Art provides a way for me to capture a moment in time and share that moment with others. The happiness I can give another person through my art is what drives me; it keeps me focused and excited to continue painting.”
Hi! My name is Ashleigh. I am a self-taught oil painter, learning mostly from trial and error, excessive amounts of art books, and watching other artists online. I find inspiration from both real life and epic fantasy, particularly all of Brandon Sanderson’s novels. I live in Sacramento, California with my husband and 5 children.
My painting journey began in December of 2017 , when my family introduced me to the show “The Joy of Painting”- Bob Ross. After the first episode, I was hooked and we went out and bought all the supplies I needed to get started: as a Christmas gift of course. Fast forward a couple years, I was still having a great time painting, but I wanted my paintings to look more realistic. This prompted my ongoing, lifelong journey of studying, practicing and learning everything I can about oil-painting.
Now, I begin all my mornings studying from selected art books, I leave time in the afternoon for practicing specific skills and planning future paintings, the evening is reserved for painting my official works. I record all of my painting sessions to share the process on my YouTube Channel.
In the future, I plan to create a painting course specifically focused on how to paint realistic fantasy art. There is a strange thrill that I find in painting something that doesn't actually exist. Bridging the gap between painting from photos of real places to painting the fantasy realm has been the most difficult and interesting challenge I have faced since striving to paint more realistically. My hope is that by creating a complete course that teaches how I accomplished this, I will make the process easier and more fun for emerging artists.
I also plan on attending conventions in the near future to sell my fantasy art prints in person! I am hoping to be able to make it to Dragonsteel 2024. When it is official, I will set up an event calendar on my website to share the dates of any conventions I will be attending. If you are subscribed to my studio mailing list, you will also receive this information in my newsletter.
Thank you everyone for your continued support and encouragement, you are the main reason I love to paint as much as I do!