About
Kurt Anderson
Kurt was raised in Motown during the 60’s which greatly influenced his love of the arts. His love for the outdoors was fostered by many backpacking and canoe trips throughout the US and Canada.
In 1995, while in the midst of a full time career as a surgical PA, raising a family and running an organic farm (who needs sleep?), he set sail on a self guided journey to rekindle his creative spirit through painting and has never looked back. He retired from the Physician Assistant profession in 2016 and has been happily painting full time since. An outdoor lover, he naturally gravitated to plein air painting which pairs two of his favorite activities.
Kurt has received training from Mark Boedges, Marc Hanson, Timothy Horn, Shelby Keefe, Elizabeth Pollie, Caesar Citraro, and Alan Maciag.
Artist Statement:
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As long as I can remember, I have had the urge to create. It has taken on all sizes and shapes-from designing and building gardens and structures to writing and performing music. In 1996, I set sail on a self-guided journey to learn painting as a creative outlet. I studied as much as I could get my hands on --from workshops to videos to reading to interaction with other artists. It has been one of the most satisfying things I have done.I see beauty in the most commonplace, overlooked and under appreciated scenes in our daily lives. Although I am taken by the natural beauty of our environment, I appreciate the “back alleys” of our lives. They also have a story to tell. I find the process of creating, not necessarily the finished piece, to be the most satisfying aspect of my work.The subjects that end up on my canvases are only those that evoke an emotional response as I visualize them for the first time. If I am not moved by the subject, my viewer will not be either.I enjoy plein air painting, which not only reveals true color and value, but captures the emotional response to the subject. I paint what I see, not what I think I should see. The focused observation required for these studies forms a rich memory palace allowing for vivid recall of the experience.Through a process of preliminary sketches, I am able to visualize the final piece. Composition, color, values and edges are at the forefront of my planning. I know when a piece is finished when it has a loose, painterly feel while still accurately rendering the subject. Often, I feel my paintings are at their freshest and most expressive when in the early stages of the painting. The challenge for me is knowing when to set the brush down and save it from being overworked.My style has evolved over the last 20 years as any creatively healthy artist’s work has. In the Impressionist style, I seek the interaction of light on form as my main interest.My goal is that the viewer will have the same emotional response as I had when I first envisioned the piece.