How artist Anne Kullaf found renewed inspiration after relocating to San Diego

“A lot changed when the pandemic hit,” says artist Anne Kullaf, a former painter-in-residence at New York City’s Bryant Park. “I was teaching at a number of museum venues and leading plein air workshops in France and Italy for people who wanted to paint on location. But then, everything moved online.” 

Kullaf’s husband, Will Rehm, an industrial designer, also found himself working remotely. Like many others at the time, the couple, who were then living in Philadelphia, suddenly came to the realization: “We can live anywhere.”

They had often vacationed in Colorado, so in 2021 they relocated to Boulder, which had a huge impact on Kullaf’s work.

“The scenery in Boulder is out of this world,” says Kullaf, who grew up in the Tri-State area in Northern New Jersey and spent summers on the Jersey Shore. She graduated from the University of Bridgeport, where she studied graphic design and painting, becoming both a teacher and a fine artist.

“Everything out west was just so much bigger and so much more grand than I was accustomed to. I started working on a much larger scale, using a palette knife for heavy applications of paint to capture the mountains and the magnitude of the landscape,” says Kullaf. While on the East Coast and in Europe, she had focused on smaller, urban scenes that she painted on location.

She still does her preliminary sketches and drawings in the field, working with pastels and watercolors. She also takes numerous photographs, which she uses for reference. Together, these become the basis for much larger oil paintings done in the studio.

In terms of size, most of Kullaf’s Boulder clientele had large contemporary homes. “They were looking for commanding pieces to set the tone when you entered a room,” she says, and her new works met those needs.

Still, while Kullaf loved Boulder’s beauty, she did not feel entirely at home. “I’m used to being on the coast, even if I don’t go to the ocean every day,” she says. “I was feeling a bit isolated in Colorado, so when my daughter and her partner moved to San Diego during the pandemic, I took that as an opportunity to start visiting and painting here.”

Last year, Kullaf participated in Art San Diego, and did very well, selling a large painting of Torrey Pines.

“San Diego is a great place for my art. There is so much to paint right here, and people are always looking for something local,” says Kullaf. She notes the gardens of Balboa Park, Torrey Pines, and the ocean as San Diego subjects she loves to paint.

For more than a year, Kullaf and her husband split their time between Colorado and California before making the permanent move to San Diego this past June, settling in North Park.

Here in San Diego, she continues to paint many works by commission, which she views as a great challenge.

“It’s very much a collaborative effort and I enjoy the process,” says Kullaf, who before she does any work, spends time with her clients discussing potential subject matter and décor logistics, such as where the painting will hang, size, and potential color palettes. “If I can capture what I see in combination with the client’s vision, I think, ‘Wow, we did it.’” 

She is currently working on a painting of the koi pond at the Japanese Friendship Garden in Balboa Park for a client who was interested in one of her square paintings set there, but wanted a horizontal piece. “It won’t be the same painting. I would never duplicate artwork, but I’m happy to paint the same subject in a size and shape that the client wants,” says Kullaf. She is also meticulous when it comes to the materials she uses, including her frames, and adds, “These are works that can be enjoyed and passed down for generations.”

Kullaf will again be participating in Art San Diego this November, and will also be holding an open studio at her showroom in North Park on September 14 from 1 to 4 pm. annekullaf.com