Far from her hometown in England, Anna MaCrae carries on her family’s artistic tradition through her own creative outlet in the form of abstract painting.

The third generation artist lives on the Eastside with her three daughters, where she fosters her passion for painting in oils.

A collection of her abstract paintings are on display at the Bellevue Regional Library through the end of October. The installation is part of the “Arts in Public Places” program run by the Eastside Association of Fine Arts.

MaCrae was drawn to art from an early age and continued to take classes throughout high school and college. While in college, she pursued a degree in Civil Engineering.

“I always loved art, but I was trying to be realistic,” she said. “I needed a career and I enjoyed engineering.”

MaCrae left engineering when her daughters were born. She began to explore her creative side again by participating in her daughters’ art classes and projects at school. She enrolled in art classes at Kirkland Arts Center four years ago to try her hand at painting.

“Now that my daughters are grown, I have more time to focus my energy on my art and the creative process of painting. It’s what I truly love,” she said.

Over the years, MaCrae has experimented with different mediums and styles, but has concentrated her craft as an abstract expressionist artist.

“I like to put a lot of texture into my paintings,” she explained. “I keep the color palate limited because I add so much movement and energy with the layers. Each painting is a spontaneous process.”

MaCrae adds contrasting texture, from thick to thin and busy to calm. Each painting is done over a process of a couple of weeks to allow the layers to dry.

“Usually when I get into a painting, I do it kind of rapidly because I am responding to the randomness of the textures and emotion,” she explained.

MaCrae’s paintings are on display at an office space installation at Bullivant Houser Bailey PC, Law Firm in Seattle. She also has several displayed at the Kirkland Art Center gallery members show and will take part in the upcoming Sammamish Art Fair in October.

Lindsay Larin can be reached at 425.453.4602.

To learn more about Anna MaCrae, visit www.annamacrae.com or visit the Eastside Association of Fine Arts at http://www.eafa.org/index.html.