Rediscovering Indianapolis, Anna Afshar

Anna Afshar came to Indianapolis twenty three years ago for a job in chemistry, but with life changes came a new role as an artist. Watching the city of Indianapolis change over the years, Anna is continuing to fall in love and to rediscover Indianapolis over and over again.

The process of preparing for her exhibition Rediscovering Indianapolis, opening November 3 at the City Gallery, gave Anna the opportunity to look at the city in a different way and to come across places she didn’t know existed. Absorbing the sounds, smell, and light around her, she translates the city into watercolors.

Quoting Andrew Wyeth, Anna said, "The only virtue to a watercolor is to put down an idea very quickly without too much thought about what you feel. With watercolor you can pick up the atmosphere, the temperature, the sound ... Watercolor perfectly expresses the free side of my nature."

Using benches and railings as an easel, Anna paints from her car or by sitting on the ground, observing her surroundings, working from life - something she believes every artist should do from time to time.

This exhibition has given Anna the opportunity to look at Indianapolis in a different way. Her inspiration is the city itself, its streets and people and the abstract shapes seen everywhere.

Rediscovering Indianapolis hangs through November 24.