MEET THE ARTIST:
ANNABELL MCLENNAN
Hello, my name is Annabell McLennan and I am an emerging freelance artist with a heart for storytelling and wonder. I aim to create whimsical and narrative artworks that spark your imagination and curiosity. As a recent graduate of Liberty University majoring in both Studio Art and Graphic Design, my goal is to jump into the world of concept art and narrative illustration. Up until now, I have gained hands-on experience through commission work and expansive personal projects, but I look forward to fully stepping in to the professional landscape and adding my unique perspective to the world of the arts!
ARTIST STATEMENT:
Being a lifelong nerd with her head always lost in the clouds, it feels inevitable that I would somehow end up here. My imagination and curiosity are traits I have carried with me my entire life up to this point and plan to retain until the day I meet my Heavenly Father in His house.
In my early childhood, I would lose myself in games of pretend with my brother. We could be pirates the one day, jedi knights the next, and secret agents the day after that, expanding our creativity with every new adventure.
By the time I got to middle school, I had developed a passion for writing and worldbuilding with a certainty that I would become an author one day, but the Lord would soon show me he had other plans.
In 2018, I received my first sketchbook. Up until this point, all my drawings had been done on the back of my parents' scrap paper or in the margins of my writing notebooks, so my first sketchbook opened my eyes to a whole new world of artistic possibilities. Seeing my love for art beginning to grow, my parents decided to enroll me in a Co-Op the next year where I would meet one of the most influential people of my career: a teacher and caricature artist by the name of Sam Mylin, though he preferred to go simply by "Sam" or "The Patron Saint of the Backwards Hat." Sam's enthusiasm for art was contagious and at some point, over that freshman year of high school, my mind was changed from wishing to become an author, to wanting to become an illustrator.
Since arriving at Liberty to fulfill that dream, I have met so many more influential professors and peers who never cease to inspire and amaze me. Every day I spend in the world of visual arts gives me a fuller appreciation for God's creation.
Looking back, it is clear to me how much my artistic journey has shaped my current work. My love for storytelling and characters especially is a remanent of my history as a writer and lover of fiction. I love imagining my pieces as living worlds and characters with lives beyond the confines of a single moment. I try to treat every project as a learning experience and constantly seek to expand the limits of my imagination!
Above all, I aim to use my gifts as an artist to glorify God in gratitude for his blessings and the beauty of his original creation.
RESUME:
