Today we’d like to introduce you to Anne Kostecki.
Hi Anne, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I had wanted to be an artist since I was very young; I think I was five years old when I first realized I enjoyed art. I kept drawing for my entire childhood and was fortunate enough to take art lessons while I was in high school. I built a portfolio and applied to art schools and art institutes. I chose Washington University in St. Louis because I have a lot of academic interests in addition to art and wanted to pursue those. While I was in college, I did a few freelance projects, and that first opened my eyes to freelancing full-time.
I majored in Communication Design and minored in English, and moved with my husband to Baltimore, MD. I worked as a graphic designer at various agencies and internships, then accepted an in-house design position at Loyola University Maryland. I attended the university and received my MBA in 2017, knowing that I wanted to eventually launch a full-time freelance career. I had been freelancing off and on since I graduated college in 2010 and enjoyed working with small businesses and wedding clients as well as painting a few commissions.
In 2018, I was accepted into my first juried art fair, and so I jumped in and created an inventory of art prints, notebooks, and other handmade products. My husband and I were so happy to move back to St. Louis in August 2019, and I’ve been steadily building my career since. This year, I am so excited to get back to art fairs, shows, and teaching in-person workshops. I’m very happy to share that I’ve been booking up commissions this year, and I always enjoy creating custom artwork for clients.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Well, I wouldn’t say it’s always been a smooth road. One of my toughest times was right after I graduated in 2010. It was soon after the financial crisis of 2008 when unemployment was high and job competition was fierce. My future husband moved to Baltimore, MD, for graduate school, and I wanted to have a job before I moved out there. I applied to hundreds of graphic design jobs and even jobs that weren’t really in my field, spending hours on my resume, portfolio, cover letters, recommendation letters, and various application forms. For almost a year, I juggled multiple short-term internships trying to cobble together an income.
One of my more memorable experiences was an internship and a small agency, in which I was let go and told that I was clearly not a”rock star designer” and that I should consider doing graphic design work for the government! I was shocked and insulted and vowed to dedicate myself to my career and make a success of myself.
My first full-time job was a graphic design position at a sign shop, and I hated it! It was not challenging work in the slightest, and there were virtually no benefits while salary was barely above minimum wage. I was so happy to be hired by a local university, to finally have benefits and a better salary. I was able to get my MBA for free, which was great, but that was also a highly stressful time in my life. I was working full-time, a part-time graduate student, and still freelancing.
When I finally became a full-time freelancer and started my business in December 2019, I was ready to finally build my business: and then COVID hit. I was unable to network by participating in art fairs or gallery shows, and I had to cancel all of my teaching and networking engagements. If COVID taught me anything, it was how to maximize time at home. I made a record number of paintings in 2020, fully revamped my website and store, won my first art show awards, and signed my first contracts with wholesalers. There were (and still are) struggles, but they force me to adapt and push me to triumph over them.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I primarily work in watercolor when I paint. What I like about watercolor is the luminous quality of the paint on the surface. I like how it can be unpredictable how the paint and water will run or react to certain brushstrokes. As someone who likes being in control, it is a nice release for me to give up control and let the paint react.
My process varies with the medium I choose. I usually work in mechanical pencil, ink, colored pencil, watercolor paint, and sometimes acrylic paint or hard pastel. I don’t often have the opportunity to work en plein air, so I usually use my own reference photos or photos from a free reference photo group on Facebook I’m a part of. I spend a long time sketching any detail, very lightly in mechanical pencil. Then when I paint or use colored pencil, I color from lightest color to darkest. I usually work from largest swathes of color (like the blue of the sky) to the smallest. Then I work down into as much detail as I can handle. I love picking subjects that are colorful, with interesting or challenging compositions.
I’m most proud of how I’ve trained my eye and brain as an artist. I am dedicated to creating work that is representational, but I also like to add elements that are more surreal or supernatural. I think that my artist’s training has taught me to notice things, even minuscule things, that many people miss. I love color, and just seeing certain colors in nature makes me happy.
Art is my escape from anxiety and chaos. My best work is created in a state of thoughtlessness, in which my mind is blissfully blank. Creating art is my method of understanding the world and all of its endless fascinations. I think my intellectual and somewhat anxious and analytical personality sets me apart as an artist.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I think taking risks is almost necessary as an artist and definitely as a business owner. I don’t think of myself as a major risk-taker, especially now that I’m supporting a family. But, I think one of the biggest risks I took was choosing to study art. When I was younger, I think I was convinced that my talent and dedication would make me successful, but now that I’m older, I see that nothing in life is guaranteed. I had a lot of other interests, especially in the sciences, law, and foreign languages, and honestly, those careers would’ve been a lot less risky.
When I was growing up, I had lots of friends interested in creative careers, but most of them did not continue with those paths. It is risky being a professional creative because only the hardest workers rise to the top, and paychecks aren’t always reliable.
Even though I wouldn’t naturally consider myself a risk-taker, I try to remember that all of the great artists, role models, and memorable women that I admire have all taken risks.
Contact Info:
- Email: anneckostecki@gmail.com
- Website: www.annekostecki.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/annekosteckidesign
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnneKosteckiDesign/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/annekostecki
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1RnbBFm2O9lo5_ETrSsApw
