Anne Neilson was 40 when she painted the first of her nationally-renowned angels. As a mom of four children, she was building a new life in the city she’d first fallen in love with, driving down Queens Road West.
Neilson, who is originally from Jacksonville, Fla., built a studio off her kitchen where she picked up painting again while her children were in school—this time on her own terms. As a sophomore in high school, Neilson had made a D- in art class; staying inside the lines was never her thing. Later in life, she embraced the abstract.
ORIGIN OF THE ANGEL
At first, Neilson tried landscapes, figures and still lifes. At one point, she painted a pear, which prompted her then 7-year-old daughter to say, “Mom, you need art lessons.” She began to dig deeper.
“I wanted to paint something that reflected my faith,” she explains now, looking back.
“I painted oils,” she continues. “I was petrified of watercolors. I'm a very messy painter, so I would play around with color and texture. I did a cross, didn’t like that. Did a couple other little things, didn't like that. Then I painted this one angel, and I thought, ‘Hmm, OK.’”
She took a screenshot of it and emailed it to her younger sister, who responded, “I think you've found your voice.”
From there, angels started flowing, and her paintings were “flying off my kitchen counter” at home art shows. They haven’t stopped since. Neilson has published coffee-table books, devotionals and an autobiography. She's donated paintings to help raise money for charitable causes. She opened an art gallery in SouthPark to showcase the work of more than 50 other artists.
NEW HOME STORE OPENING
Neilson sells angel products nationwide through her Anne Neilson Home website, from stationery to scarves, candles and placements, children’s quilts to scripture cards. This summer, she is opening a home store in the same Morrison complex in SouthPark where her gallery is located. It serves as a headquarters for her gallery, team, and sales—while offering customers and collectors a welcoming space to shop, experience her artwork, browse everything from her needlepoint line to curated products, and simply gather.
Neilson has always wanted her art to be about connection.
THE IMPORTANCE OF HER FAITH
For more than 20 years now, since 2003, her angels have captivated people. Unlike the crisp lines of classically painted angels, her impressionist forms have faceless figures with scraggly white wings. They’re ethereal, mysterious and open to interpretation. She applies paint with a palette knife, giving the angels dimension. Even in printed books or notecards, the angels manage to jump off the page.
Neilson paints to Christian praise music, often drawing inspiration from the artists she listens to. In 2008, after learning of the tragic death of Christian singer Steven Curtis Chapman’s 5-year-old daughter, Maria, she felt moved to create. She painted an angel in soft pastels and sent it to the family, later recounting the experience at Bible study.
“We were talking about how we serve a big God,” she says. “He's big, but we tend to keep him in a small box.”
When she returned to her car, an email from Chapman’s assistant was waiting.
“She wrote, ‘My gosh, we just about dropped the painting when the Chapmans opened it,’” Neilson says. “The colors are the exact same colors of their home, and little Maria Sue always wore her hair tousled in a red ponytail (holder).’ I sobbed. I said, ‘OK, God, shatter that small box.’
Sending angels to people became a ministry and a way Neilson built not only her reputation but also relationships. She felt a connection to Oprah Winfrey over the name of her charity, “The Angel Network.” She had painted three angels with Oprah in mind and let them sit for a year in her studio. When Oprah revealed on TV that she had discovered she had a third sibling, Neilson was inspired to send her three angels to Oprah. Not long afterward, she got a personal call from Oprah and an invitation to come to a taping in Chicago.
FRIENDSHIP THROUGH THE TODAY SHOW
Neilson got to know people through her angels, even celebrities. She’d always felt a bond with Kathie Lee Gifford from watching “Regis and Kathie Lee” while she made pottery. She sent Gifford a copy of her first book, Angels in Our Midst, which prompted Gifford to show up at one of Neilson’s art shows in Connecticut.
“We became fast friends, and she held the book up on the Today Show,” says Neilson.
Shortly thereafter, she heard from a grandmother in Ohio, who told her how Neilson’s book helped her grieve the death of her 4-year-old granddaughter.
“She said, ‘I read it cover to cover, and it's like the floodgates of Heaven have opened up and the healing has begun,’” Neilson says. “I knew then that this was a ministry.”
WHAT’S NEXT FOR ANNE NEILSON HOME
Creating a line of angel products was part of her effort to make them more accessible and affordable than just through paintings, which were commanding $10,000 to $15,000 in art auctions. That motivation continues with the opening of her store.
“We wanted it attainable for everybody,” Neilson says. “For the people who are going through trials and tribulations, and for the people who want to celebrate joy. We've got 250 or so products out there and are creating more every day.”