Meet the Artist: Anna Mörner
Anna Mörner is a Swedish painter and illustrator whose natural, organic forms and close-to-nature color palettes have gained her recognition in Stockholm and beyond. We met up with Anna to discuss her influences, her love of animals and her journey to becoming an artist.
Based in Stockholm, Anna has always loved creating: “I’ve always had a desire to express myself creatively, and that was something my family encouraged.” They helped her to fulfil creative projects. “I spent many summers with my grandparents – my grandmother was a pattern maker. Say I wanted to sew clothes for a teddy, she would always help me. There was always support for whatever creative idea I came up with.”
Painting became her medium of choice following an art school foundation year in Stockholm, after which her artistic career took off: “Social media became a tool that allowed me to reach people. At the same time, I took oil painting courses, although I haven't completed a three-year fine arts degree yet – that's something I'd like to do in the future.”
Anna Mörner’s studio in Stockholm
She now works from a studio on Lilla Essingen, an island in Stockholm. It is one room with big walls, which suits her preference for working on a large scale. It used to be a post office. “When I moved in the walls were bright red, and there were desks everywhere. It took a lot of vision to imagine how it could become a studio.”
Now it’s clean, organized and the perfect space for Anna to paint. “I like to feel like I can climb into the world I am painting, or to feel small in front of something I have created. When I listen to music, I don’t want it on low volume or on headphones, I want it to be loud, to echo in the room.”
Where does she get her inspiration from? “I’ve always been very fascinated and drawn to animals.” As well as organic forms, Anna’s work often features horses or dogs, and one of the pieces in Soft Terrain is a beautifully painted horse’s head, rendered in deep greens, golds and orange.
Gigi, a Whippet Shetland Sheepdog cross, is curled up next to Anna while we talk.
“I also love horses and ride as much as I can. To me, it’s very connected to art as it’s about communication without words. Like when you are on a horse in the forest and you feel like something’s off. It’s like a kind of like magic.” That non-verbal communication is relevant to her art too. “It’s not so much about composition, but about timing, form, and color how they work together.” She also finds inspiration from different artists, art traditions and from nature, emotions and music.
Building an inspiration library
Anna finds her creativity comes in waves, but uses her own sketches and writing to find ideas for new work. “I try to gather things that I am actually inspired by, to build a kind of inspiration library. I sometimes go back to old works to figure out what felt exciting or if there was something I could develop further.”
Working mainly in oil paints and acrylics, Anna’s work often features leaf-like forms in natural colors. “I usually say I can’t draw a straight line.” She enjoys working with oil pastels too: “I like how it’s hard to make it perfect, but rather it’s a bit smudgy. I like that kind of texture.”
What’s her favorite thing about being an artist? “I like the freedom. Creating something that I love, that takes on a life of its own and goes to someone else’s home, hopefully for a really long time. And that I can have a dog, of course!”
Explore four new designs by Anna Mörner on her Featured Artist page. These pieces are part of Soft Terrain, a collection that celebrates connection: with home, with people and with nature.
