Annie Sloan

Elizabeth Ann Sloan (born 19 June 1949) is a British artist, designer, colour expert, author and inventor. She is the inventor of Chalk Paint, and the CEO of her family-run company, Annie Sloan Interiors.

Sloan's mission is to help people fulfill their creative potential, “everybody is in some way creative – I’m just very keen on helping people find that creativity”, which she seeks to do through her global network of independent stockists, and her teaching.

After studying Fine Art at university in the 1970s,  where she was a member of the avant-garde punk bad Moody And The Menstruators, Sloan went on to write several books on traditional paints and decorative painting techniques, starting with The Complete Book of Decorative Paint Techniques in 1988. She developed her own line of decorative paint, Chalk Paint, in 1990. She is now considered an international authority on paint and colour and was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2023 Birthday Honours for services to interior design.

Early life, education and family
Sloan was born in Sydney, Australia, in 1949 to a Scottish-born father and a Fijian-born mother. It was Sloan's journalist father who inspired her love of the arts by introducing her to the work of the Fauve painter Gauguin.

Sloan studied fine art for seven years, at Croydon College of Art under Marc Camille Chaimowicz and at Reading School of Art under tutors including Terry Frost and Claude Rogers. It was during her time here that she discovered Charleston Farmhouse and wrote to the artist Duncan Grant expressing her wish to visit. In 2018, Sloan began working with the Charleston Trust, which she described as “a dream come true”.

During her time as a student, Sloan explored her punk and performance art ideals alongside fellow artists and students including Anne Bean in the band Moody and The Menstruators, also known as The Moodies. Malcolm McLaren was interested in signing The Moodies, having seen their performance supporting Pink Floyd, but the band was unwilling to compromise their artistic integrity.

Sloan lives and works in Oxford, England, with her husband, David. They have three sons, including the musician Chad Valley, and three grandchildren. Her cousin is the BBC TV executive Tom Sloan (television executive).

Career
After graduating from university, Sloan worked as an art teacher at various schools in East London from 1973-1977. She also worked for Time Out magazine as their Theatre Editorial Assistant (1973- 1975). It was after this that Sloan turned her attention to decorative painting.[5] Sloan's first book, The Complete Book of Decorative Paint Techniques, was co-authored with Kate Gwynn and published in 1988. The success of the book launched her career as a decorative paint expert and led to opportunities to teach decorative painting techniques internationally.

Chalk Paint
Sloan went on to develop her own brand of paint, Chalk Paint, in 1990. Drawing on a lifetime of research and experience in working with paint and colour, the invention of Chalk Paint was borne from Sloan's need for a paint which could be used to achieve endless decorative effects – and quickly – without the need to sand or otherwise prepare surfaces before application. Initially, the paint was manufactured in Belgium.

She opened her first shop in Headington, Oxford, in 2000, where she sold her paint, as well as fabrics and ready-painted furniture.

Her book Colour Recipes for Painted Furniture and More was published in 2013. This was followed by Room Recipes for Style and Colour in 2014.

In 2021 Sloan launched Annie Sloan Wall Paint alongside Annie Sloan Satin Paint.

In 2018 Sloan launched her bookazine, The Colourist, which is published twice annually.

Collaborations
Sloan has collaborated with Oxfam, Charleston Trust, ActionAid, Create Academy, and The RHS on fundraising and creative projects.

Sloan was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2023 Birthday Honours for services to interior design.