2025 Year in Review: Art, Family, and Finding My New Rhythm
“This year asked for flexibility, faith, and creativity — sometimes all three at the same time.”
2025 was a year of adjustment, and steady forward motion. It held meaningful art, deep family moments, and a reworking of how creativity fits into real life. This is a month-by-month revisit on the work, the pauses, and the beauty that shaped my year in and out of the studio.
January 2025 | Started with a bang!
January I started off running. I was honored to take part in my fourth (I think) Square Foot Show. I also was dealing with my eye injury and a new puppy. I also was working on a special custom diptych piece for a beautiful home on Topsail and balancing all the things like preparing for my spring collection launches and a few in person shows. Here is the large diptcyh that I completed in January 2025 for the house One Particular Harbor on North Topsail. It was an honor to create a piece for a beautiful home that I personally love to stay in!
Sheltered From the Wind, Oils over golden metallic, 40 × 60 (sold)
February 2025 | Preparing for a Colorful Spring
In the middle of winter, I was already thinking about spring. February had me painting daisies and imagining that first quiet walk through a field as everything starts to wake back up. I was enjoying painting on the rounds, and I wanted to have some fun with a floral landscape. “Wild Abandon” feels like stepping out of winter and into something lighter—color returning, air softening, hope sneaking in before you even realize it.
Wild Abandon, Oils over Gold metallic. 12” diameter (sold)
March 2025 | Momentum Builds
Two collection launches 🚀 Two in-person shows 😮💨 And a reminder that spring always brings fresh energy. 💪🏻
I loved how the Drift & Bloom collection came together—especially the two peony pieces. They felt soft, hopeful, and like a quiet exhale after winter.
Whispers of a Peony - Oils over Copper (sold)
April 2025 | Holding Joy and Some Worry
April was full in ways I’ll always remember. I taught two Colorful Knives classes — one at EOD Distillery and another at Eclipse Artisan Boutique — and loved watching students show up bravely and create their own palette knife paintings.
I liked all of the students pieces much more than my own! It is such a boost to share how I create with others.
April was also a month of family time. I spent meaningful time with my mom before her heart surgery, and while staying at Duke our family found peace wandering through the Sarah P. Duke Gardens — a place to breathe while she was in surgery and recovering after. I’m grateful she came through surgery smoothly and is doing well now!
Yes, I will be painting this scene someday…
May 2025 | Family and Home
May was rooted in care and togetherness. With my mom recovering at home, my aunt Joann and uncle Dave traveled from Minnesota to help — a gift I’ll always be thankful for. Seeing my dad John and Uncle Dave stop by the Ocean Fest show while Joann stayed with Mom meant more than I can say.
Happy my last outdoor show of 2025 was shared with my favorite uncle Dave and my Dad, John. I also had a wonderful time reconnecting with so many of my local collectors.
Creatively, I received the first samples of my beach totes, something I’m incredibly proud of. I painted a sailboat under coral skies, completed a red-tailed hawk commission for dear friends, and finally finished the large great blue heron I’d started in March.
Coral Breeze - 12 × 12 - Oils Over Gold (sold)
Josh also traveled to meet his niece, Scout — a wonderful family moment we were happy his health allowed. I closed the month with a show alongside my sister Hiedi, with another sister show already planned for early 2026.
Our first show together! Sisterly Impressions - we had a wonderful time sharing our work last May and we are really looking forward to our show in February 2026! We hope you can join us for the opening night on February 27th, 2026. See the event here.
June 2025 | Proud Auntie Moment
June felt like a transition month — I was doing my best to get prepared for my job switcheroo in July and do as much as I could to get ready. It was a wee bit of a hectic month but so many exciting things happened. I painted a little hummingbird for my niece to celebrate her graduation. I was also honored to be featured in the summer edition of Topsail Magazine (still kind of can’t believe that one).
The special piece I did just for Jojo my niece for her graduation. Capturing a little hummingbird in motion is such a joy! “Every Petal a Promise” 8 × 10 Oils Over Gold (collected)
Topsail Magazine Summer 2025 - Never would I ever dreamed of being featured in a magazine for my art!
July–September 2025 | Finding a New Creative Rhythm
These months flew by. I was in class all day with my new job, and my creative flow had to adapt. Studio time became more intentional — smaller windows, but still meaningful.
The Marshlight collection came to life, and my first great blue egret found its new home in record time. I began several custom paintings for collectors, including one inspired by red rock mountains out west — landscapes that brought back memories of road trips through California and those unforgettable sunsets.
Sunset Serenity - 24 × 30 Oils over Gold (sold)
I also painted smaller ocean pieces that found their homes and shared Only A Day Away at the Landfall show — now happily collected.
Only A Day Away - 36 × 48 Oils over Gold (sold)
October–December 2025 | Settling In
Wrapping up the year felt full in all the best ways — new large oil paintings, lots of dog love, family time on the beach. Also, kitchen floods are no fun - just in case you were curious. (All is well and we are on the road to a remodel this week! Very excited to have my home back together again.)
These months I was doing my best to settle into my new full time work at home position and figure out what a healthier schedule for my art business and creativity would be. I never will stop making my art, but I have pivot a bit to caretake and also make sure I personally don’t burn out. What does that mean for my art in the years to come? I am hoping to make more gallery connections that will market my art for me. I may not make as many prints or sell as many pieces online as I have in the past. If the plan succeeds, this will lead to more time in the studio and in the end I will be able to share my passion for the coastal scenery with more collectors!
Thank you for taking this walk down Annie Ingram Art memory lane. I also want to say thank you — for being here, for following along, and for riding this roller coaster with me as I continue to make something I truly love, straight from my soul. As the sole provider for our family while caretaking and working full time, my art helps keep us afloat, and that fills me with so much gratitude.
I completed this large triptych commission as a surprise, honoring a family’s memories of beach trips to Topsail SeaView Pier- the kind of work that reminds me why I paint. “Where the Light Finds Us” 36 × 72 Oils Over Gold (sold)
Thank you for being here — for supporting handmade work and the human behind it.