Anne McCune

Encaustic | Acrylic | Plein Air

Anne McCune has been painting in one medium or another for over 35 years, and has lived in the Rochester area for that whole time. From early childhood memories of winning prizes in coloring competitions in church magazines, to her latest award given by the Genesee Land Trust at the Rochester Contemporary Art Center’s 2026 Members’ Show, Anne has always created art.

Having had no formal art education, she has taken advantage of a number of remarkably talented artists who share their talents through classes and workshops. She has taken encaustic wax workshops on the west coast of Ireland on two occasions, which forever altered her view of the landscape and her own art. The landscape, culture, and soul seem to be inexorably combined on the Irish coast, and Anne is drawn to portraying these elements in everything she does.

Over the years Anne has moved through several media, from watercolor to mixed media collage, to acrylics and most recently encaustic wax, but has always continued to use the lessons learned from mastering each medium.

Anne has had her work juried into local, national, and international shows, and has won several awards over the years. She has been in a shared studio for 10 years, most recently in the Neighborhood of the Arts, and has been involved in the vibrant First Friday scene in the Rochester area. Working in the studio she has been able to produce, show and sell, as well as enter her work into many noteworthy juried shows. For the last 3 or 4 years Anne has joined in the growing popularity for plein air painting, taking full advantage of the beautiful and varied landscapes around Rochester and the Finger Lakes. Plein air painting offers immediacy, forcing the artist to make quick decisions and to really connect more intimately with the landscape. Anne enjoys recreating some of her plein air pieces in a larger format back at her studio.

The focus of Anne’s work has always been the natural environment. Hailing from the UK and then living both in China and Mexico before settling in the Rochester, NY area, she has witnessed wildly diverse landscapes. Drawn to the most basic elements in nature — a gleaming or churning body of water, a dramatic sky, the dancing light over a field of corn — she strives to evoke the feeling of her immersion into the landscape while attempting to create an evocative narrative for the viewer. The energy and solidity of the natural environment is always a constant pull for her, as is the challenge and excitement of capturing the light at either end of the day.

Anne is a Signature member of the Rochester Art Club; a Signature member of the Genesee Valley Plein Air Painters; a member of the Working With Wax group and the International Encaustic Association; and a member at Railroad Street Artworks in Fairport, NY.