Artist Anni Crouter brings her striking paintings to the Customs House Museum and Cultural Center in the exhibition Tales of Enchantment. Working in oil, acrylic, and watercolor, Crouter’s realistic scenes tell stories lined in mystery. Paintings such as Firefly highlight the artist’s technical abilities within the details of lace and fur in a confined composition, but within the strength of her subjects Anni inserts a sense of vulnerability that allows the viewer to imagine their own narrative.

Born in Chicago, but growing up in Flint, Michigan, Anni Crouter started painting and drawing before she could read or write. Soon after relocating to Michigan in 1965, this natural ability caught notice by her mother and both her grandmothers, who encouraged her to express herself. Anni has always been inspired by her surroundings. Growing up on a farm and traveling abroad to places such as Scotland and Zimbabwe gave Anni many aspiring subjects to paint and draw such as horses, barn cats, dogs, birds, and other wild and domesticated animals. Many of these subjects remain her favorites to paint.

Anni is a member of the American Watercolor Society, Artists for Conservation, and the Society of Animal Artists. Her work can be seen in national and international trade journals, art galleries, and businesses in several states, and in the homes of private collectors.