Anna Oneglia

Anna Oneglia Born 1951 NYC, NY

Living in Santa Cruz CA for more than 25 years, I am a painter working in oils & mixed media , as well as a printmaker producing block prints & lithographs. I find that moving between media allows different parts of my brain and spirit to be active, the one more intuitive, the other with more forethought.

Travel influences my work, Hawaii & France for many years, and currently India, where I am beginning to go annually. While on the road, I often work in watercolor or with oils on gessoed paper.

Most paintings begin as drawings made out in the world in my sketchbooks. I collect images and ideas, bringing these back to the studio to use as starting points for the larger works on canvas.

Combining sketches with ideas from the imagination, I blend inner and outer observation. The figure is central to my work, a grappling with how humans shape and are shaped by the world.

I love oils for their richness & color, also the possibility they give for a piece to keep changing as it evolves. Gold & silver leaf, as well as stamps and bits of collected papers are often worked into the paint, adding texture and another source of information.

Intrigued by the combined power of words and images, I am involved in making an ongoing series of figurative block prints which include quotes within their designs.

In looking for art to make a difference, my paintings have been published as posters for many causes, including Business Aid for AIDS, Bike to Work Week, The National Nurse Midwives Association, Celebration of the Muse, San Jose Womens Commission.