From SouthPark to the White House: How a Charlotte artist grew her business
Anne Neilson’s paintings of angels have captured the attention of celebrities and earned her an invitation to The White House recently. But the Charlotte artist wasn’t shy about admitting she earned a D-minus in her 10th-grade art class.
“A lot of people were telling me, ‘No, you can’t do that,’ ” Neilson said. “‘You’ll be a starving artist. You’re not going to make any money doing that.’”
But through her faith, she proved them wrong. “You can do what God has called you to do.” That conviction led to her presence in the SouthPark neighborhood, with two art spaces and a new shop, with tentative plans for a soft opening this summer and a grand opening in the fall.
She was also thrilled to go to Washington, D.C., to represent Charlotte during the White House Small Business Summit in May. Neilson was one of 100 business owners selected nationwide for the event, which highlighted the Trump administration’s policies supporting small businesses.
Neilson described the event as “surreal,” as attendees navigated heavy security and were greeted by a musical quartet for the gathering in the East Wing. She and other attendees were placed under a temporary lockdown due to an off-property shooting incident, which they didn’t realize was happening until after the event ended.
President Donald Trump called small businesses the heartbeat of America, and expressed a desire to revitalize manufacturing during his remarks at the event, Neilson recalled.
“It was incredible just to be there to represent not only our gallery but our artists that we represent, my team,” Neilson said.
A passion for angel art redefined a Charlotte creator
Neilson began her professional art journey in pottery and later transitioned into traditional oil landscapes.
Her first painting of an angel in the early 2000s would change everything, but after creating it, she wasn’t sure what to think. Neilson took a picture of the painting and sent it to her sister, who told her, “I think you found your calling.”
“God gave me a paintbrush, as we surrender to what has been given to us as a gift, surrender and see what’s next,” she said.
She began painting in oils in 2003 and quickly gained national attention for her angel pieces.
“People were just drawn to the angels. I had so many stories, and different people would fly into the gallery to sit down with me and tell me their story — whether their son had passed away or they lost a mother — and how they connected with the angels... This is a story-driven brand; it’s so driven by the people we meet, the stories, and the connection.”
Her brand expanded into a wholesale business, with more than 250 products sold in about 3,000 stores across the country.
Angel art connects with Oprah and Maria Schriver
As interest in her work grew, Neilson expanded beyond painting canvases.
In 2012, She founded Anne Neilson Home at her Kingston Avenue studio for her products and published several books. Her business grew through a series of major, high-profile milestones.
Neilson sent her first coffee-table book, “Angels in Our Midst,” to Kathie Lee Gifford, former “Today” show host. Gifford’s on-air plugs in 2014 boosted Neilson’s website traffic, which led to the launch of her home-product line.
And a few years before that moment, Neilson had experienced another major breakthrough.
After painting a piece featuring one of her angels, Neilson was convinced the canvas was meant for Oprah Winfrey and turned down other interested buyers. She inscribed “Amazing Grace” on the back and mailed it to Winfrey’s assistant after watching an emotional episode about Winfrey’s biological family.
About a week later, she got an unexpected call from Winfrey, which led to an invitation to her star-studded farewell show in May 2011 at Chicago’s United Center.
When Neilson returned home, Winfrey privately commissioned her to create a custom painting for Maria Shriver, which is now displayed in Shriver’s office. The connection ultimately blossomed into a close friendship that helped Neilson raise more than $300,000 for women’s Alzheimer’s research.
Later in 2014, Neilson opened Anne Neilson Fine Art at the Morrison Shopping Center at 721 Governor Morrison St., Suite 180. The shop represents more than 60 artists in Charlotte, around the country and abroad. Nielson described the gallery as a lighthouse and ministry to promote artists and organizations. The gallery hosts fundraisers for international and Charlotte nonprofits.
The turning point in transforming her hobby into a full-time ministry came a couple of weeks after her book was featured on the “Today” show.
She received a call from an Oklahoma woman who told her she had been unable to grieve the death of her 4-year-old granddaughter — who had died two years earlier — until she read Neilson’s book. The woman said it felt as if “the floodgates of heaven” had opened and her healing had begun.
At that moment, Neilson said, she shifted her perspective on her artwork.
Building in SouthPark
In addition to the gallery and her personal studio, Neilson is preparing to return to her roots this summer by opening a standalone shop for Anne Neilson Home around the corner from her gallery. The shop will sell items featuring her artwork, such as scripture cards, needlepoint kits, notes, candles and paper goods.
When it comes to running a growing small business, Neilson often runs into a creator-versus-manager dilemma.
“I’m a creative, and I don’t want to manage people,” she said, noting how hard it is to step away from business logistics to actually get into the studio and paint.
One of her biggest hurdles was finding the right people to help manage the business so she could spend more time creating. Her team currently includes around six people and several interns.
Looking back at her journey, Neilson sees her success as a reflection of her faith in action.
“Don’t give up,” she said. “There were so many days and nights when I wanted to just give up, but when you know that you’ve been called to do something for a higher purpose, you don’t give up. It is not a steady climb.
“It’s a roller-coaster ride, and I will say, buckle up, because it is fun.”
