Art by Anrika

When my daughter was six months old, she was hospitalized for almost a month because she contracted the Rhinovirus and it attacked her respiratory tract and lungs.

And it was there, sitting in a hospital with nothing else to do but worry, that I picked up a graphite pencil for the first time in almost eight years just to pass the time...

and I never stopped again! 

I officially started Art by Anrika in lockdown 2020. Although I sold a few pencil drawings here and there since the start of 2019, I never really put effort into turning it into a business.

I always had a passion for art and it has been a part of my household growing up. My Father is a mouth painter and works for The Association of Mouth and Foot Painters South Africa and my mother a fashion designer.

Even though they were both in artistic careers, they wanted me to be more than just an artist. So I went on to study accounting. However, being creative in accounting is frowned upon and I simply could not part with my artistic roots.

When the pandemic struck and my husband lost his job, I had to put out art in an easy, contact-free way, using as little as possible resources.

I bought a small iPad and taught myself how to draw digitally.

Once I discovered Etsy, it did not take long before commissions came flooding in.

Ever since then my little side hustle rescued me not only financially some days but also spiritually and mentally!

Today I successfully run my small business while simultaneously establishing my place in the corporate world of accounting. Whoever said accountants had to be boring?

 I will always be an artist by heart, no matter my occupation.