I grew up in Washington state, studied art in New York, where I also worked on renovations and landscaping. I have designed gardens in Washington, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Illinois, and had my own art gallery in Chicago.
As I create my landscape and private garden oil paintings my design style remains consistently elegant and classic, adding delicate touches enlivened with whimsy. These paintings incorporate elements of impressionism with an infusion of color. I capture the mood of a scene with a palette knife and liberal use of paint, fine tuning the images with brushes of color. Optimism, tranquility and passion radiate from the canvas, drawing the viewer into a calm and peaceful place.
My paintings have graced the cover of Arts & Leisure, as well as a US Embassy Brochure. At my own Batavia Art Gallery near Chicago, which I started and managed, I displayed my new and prior works along with promoting the works of many other local artists. This was a very rewarding period of my life. Getting to discover new artists and show their work to the public.
Garden Design has been a large part of my life for years. I have designed several gardens that were an acre and one that was 3 acres. I love English country gardens with modern art in them. Working with nature can be challenging but also fulfilling. The colors and textures are magnificent. Adding modern art to gardens adds another dimension to gardens. Finding the Florida Botanical Gardens when I moved to Florida in 2009 was wonderful. I get to put art in a huge garden.
For my mosaics I begin a piece by looking on the internet to see what has been done before. I want to create something that has never been done before. After I get the idea in my head of what I want it to look like I put it on paper. I love using the glass cutter to make the shapes, it gives me very smooth lines. I really enjoy making fish and water plants with different opaque glass.
Deeply ingrained in all my work is a passion for life and a belief that the human spirit can soar to heights unimagined. Central to my art — whether it is painting with oils, garden design and planting, or mosaic creation — is color, light and beauty.
Website
http://www.andersonart.com