Meet Anna Thane

Today we’re excited to be connecting with Anna Thane again. If you haven’t already, we suggest you check out our prior conversation with them here.

Anna, we are so thrilled to be connecting again and can’t wait to hear about all the amazing things you have been up to. Before we jump into all of that, some of our readers might have missed our prior interview, so can you take a moment to reintroduce yourself?
Hi! My name is Anna Thane. I’m a Montana native who spent 15 sunny years in California before moving back to the last best place. I definitely consider my 10 years in Los Angeles to be my formative years. I really developed my own style and figured out the direction I want my artwork to go. I work mainly with oil paint on canvas but also do what I call digital finger painting. I paint what I refer to as People Wearing Animals. It’s the best way I can find to describe my work, and it’s just something I love to experiment with. In 2024 I partnered with Montanans for Choice to create 3 billboard designs that ended up on I think 14 billboards across Montana. The Freedom Campaign utilized my digital finger paintings to spread awareness about healthcare in our communities and the access that is available. Additionally, I designed roughly 10 more designs which are used on their website and currently I’m working on 11 drawings for an up and coming project. I love that I can help spread such an important message and raise awareness through my artwork. And driving down the highway, passing by my artwork stretched across a billboard for everyone to see, is definitely a highlight of my career! I guess to sum up my answer; I’m an artist. I make things for people to look at, and sometimes eat or wear.

Great, so let’s jump into an update on what you have been up to since we last spoke. What can you share with us?
Well, as I mentioned, I spent a good deal of time last year on digital finger paintings for Montanans for Choice and the billboards. I managed to complete one oil painting as well! The painting was actually a replica of one I had done a couple years ago. It ended up in a fundraiser auction and the person who was outbid was so disappointed that I offered to paint another for them. I don’t tend to paint the same thing more than once but I found this to be a really fun challenge. I try to learn and grow as an artist with every painting so it was really fun for me to see how much better my technique is the second time around. I’m so pleased with the way this second painting turned out compared to the first. Sometimes I get down on myself for not painting all the time and constantly having something in progress, but I know that I’m always getting better and evolving my style, even if it’s one painting at a time, one year at a time. I have a bunch of ideas rolling around in my head right now and I’m itching to start another painting. I still try to complete a digital finger painting every few days as well. It’s fun to look back at where I started and see how that style has evolved as well. I use those two techniques to bounce off of each other and teach myself about layers and shapes of color and how transparency is such a powerful concept. I love to see how layers build on top of each other, each one letting in a little bit of what’s beneath but creating something entirely new. It’s just such an expression of life itself.

We also want to give folks a chance to get to know you a bit better so we’ve prepared a fun lightning round of questions. Ready?

Favorite Movie: Wild at Heart

Favorite Book: Every new book I read is my favorite

Favorite TV Show: Gilmore Girls

Favorite Band or Artist: I’m currently obsessed with the Linda Lindas

Sweet or Savory: Savory

Mountains or Beach: Mountains

Favorite Sport (to watch): Football

Favorite Sport (to play): Hiking – and yes I know that’s not a sport!

Did you play sports growing up (if so which ones): Volleyball and soccer briefly

As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up: Anything I damn well pleased

French Fries or Onion Rings: Onion rings

Chuck Rhodes or Bobby Axelrod: Those words have no meaning to me. I should probably do some Googling

Favorite Cartoon growing up: Calvin and Hobbes

Favorite Childhood movie: The Lion King

Favorite Breakfast Food: Breakfast burrito with bacon

What do you want people to remember about you and your brand? What are some of things that you feel are most important, unique, special, etc?
I’m just out here being me. I’m always going to try new things and it’s always going to be “the one” until I move on to something else, but I hold on to every new technique and skill and creative outlet and allow them to help shape me as a person. It’s those layers I mentioned! Anna Thane is more than just my name, it’s my brand, and it’s a culmination of everything I’ve done up to this point that contributes to my work. I never actually wanted to be a professional artist because I thought that would mean doing what everyone else wanted me to do. But I have found a way to get paid for my art, in so many different ways, while staying true to myself and learning to adapt and grow and change. I just think that authenticity is so important. I’m trying to be the best Anna Thane that I can be, and I would love to inspire others to do the same, whatever that means for them.

Website: https://Annathane.com

Instagram: @annathane

LinkedIn: Anna-thane

Facebook: @annathane

Image Credits
All photos taken my me.