Annette Hammer has been painting for over 30 years. What started out as a one time need for a wall painting became a passion to create within the medium of oils, and later, acrylics and watercolor. Her first art instruction for many years was with Jay Mittel in Santa Monica. Later, several years of study with some of the best Ventura County artists at Ventura College and Oxnard College led to the desire to complete an arts degree. Ms. Hammer graduated Magna Cum Lauds from U3C with a BFA in Fine Arts in May, 2000. Study has also been accomplished through Associates in Art and the California Art institute.

Ms. Hammer was commissioned in June 2000 to paint a 6 foot by 9 foot mural for the Wriggly Marine Institute through USC. The mural is displayed at the "outdoor touch tanks" at the Wriggly Marine Institute learning center at Two Harbors, Catalina Island. A grant from USC was awarded to complete the project.

Many awards have been won, notably: 1 st place in painting in June 2004 at the Thousand Oaks Conejo Valley Art Museum ArtWalk , 1st place in painting in 2003 at the Beverly Hills Affaire in the Gardens Show; Best of Show two years in a row at the Santa Monica Sports & Arts Festival, also winning the Special Seascape Award; a Best of Show at the Ventura County Fair in Photography; and ADDY Awards for Professional Illustration through the Ventura County Ad Club.

Exhibits have included the Ophelia Gallery in 2002; being one of the first artists to be invited to have a solo exhibit as part of the Oxnard Carnegie Art Museum "Masters in Our Midst" Series in 1995. A solo show in April 2000 was held at the USC Helen Lindhurst Fine Arts Gallery. Several shows have been staged at the Ventura County National Bank, the Buenaventura Art Association Gallery, and Ventura College.

Ms. Hammer has worked as a background artist, layout artist, and storyboard cleanup artist at Nickelodeon Animation Studio on the animated shows Hey Arnold, Spongebob Squarepants, and Catdog. Several scenery backdrops and murais for community theatricai productions have also been designed and painted.

"As a landscape artist, I appreciate so much the beauty of the surrounding world. My intention is to capture the essence of the beauty we see, that may be fleeting and not otherwise noticed, that changes from moment to moment as we interact with our environment: To have someone say that they feel that they are there, that they could walk right into a painting of mine, is the highest commendation."