Annie Tolliver

Annie Tolliver is the daughter of artists Mose Tolliver and Willie Mae Tolliver. She remembers drawing in the dirt of Sternfield Alley outside the house where she was born in Montgomery, Alabama. She went to high school until the 10th grade, when she dropped out to take care of her son Leonard and to get married. She worked for a long time cleaning hospitals, hotels, and restaurants. She says her father was the first to influence her art. "I was very interested in my daddy's work. He would often show us how he painted things and encouraged all of us in the family to try painting also. Her work has definite differences from that of Mose Tolliver's. Annie's is more colorful, with brighter and more varied colors. Her shapes are her own, with more muscular bodies and many more details such as tiny white teeth, trim on the clothing, polished fingernails, and so on. Her paint has a flat, hard-edged look, and she seldom mixes her colors. She says her paintings are about what makes her smile - her children, her family and funny animals. "I enjoy painting and now I know I'll never give it up. It's in my blood."