Lockdown artist hosting first exhibition

An artist who only started painting during the Covid lockdown has an exhibition of her work opening for the first time.

Guernsey artist Tiffany Anna has more than 200,000 followers on Instagram and said she sought to inspire people through her art.

Her exhibition is running at the JARO Gallery in St Helier in Jersey until 25 May.

She said: "Even today I'm shocked that I actually have that many people following me and so many people message and say they have been inspired to pick up art again… I love inspiring people to do that because I feel it is such an important thing to be creative."

Ms Anna previously worked as a photographer but it was during lockdown in 2020 when she asked her artist mother if she could borrow her brushes.

She said: "I started with a bee. I thought it was the simplest thing to paint."

"I painted a bee just for fun popped it on Facebook and someone asked if they could buy it.

"I think I gave my first one away for free but I bought another canvas, and then I just bought another and carried on and it literally hasn't stopped from there."

Positivity is a major theme of her art and she seeks to make happy feel happy through the vibrant paintings she creates.

"I think in the world we live in now… there's a lot of sad things going on and depressing things going on and people struggle with mental health. I feel that I love creating art that when you look at it you feel happy and if it makes one person smile, I've done my job.

"That's all I want to do in life, is make the world a happier place through art."

"Painting is my therapy. If I'm feeling down I go to my studio I put my music on full blast I dance for a bit and I paint and it just cheers me up."

"I genuinely wish more people with do this, or have access to do this so they also can feel how I feel when I paint."

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