A little about me
Who is Kathy Anderson the Artist? As a visual artist I am always looking for new inspiration for my paintings. Because I have always loved nature and love being outdoors in all seasons that has been a natural source for me from which to derive inspiring vistas, colors, compositions and lighting. I walk outside every day even if it’s just around my own neighborhood. It never ceases to amaze me how the natural world provides infinite variations on the same landscapes. My only physical tool that I use when I am out in nature is my cell phone and I use it frequently. It helps capture the image that has piqued my curiosity so that when I get back to my studio, even if the photo isn’t great, it’s enough to jog my memory of the moment so that I can attempt to capture that magic in my painting.
Thoughts on Color
I love color, so many times what gets translated into my paintings is a very bold, saturated palette. At other times, my objective is very different. I also love the moodiness of gray, misty, rainy or overcast days as well as the fading light of day. These images call for the strong use of muted tones and lots of gray. I prefer to mix my own grays rather than using gray paint. I am always experimenting with different mixes of paint to create my grays but I most often use the other colors within that painting and mix those together to get the gray I want.
Experimenting with Styles
My husband, Tony, who is also an artist, has been instrumental in encouraging me to begin exploring abstract paintings in addition to my landscapes. This has been both exciting and freeing for me as a painter. Sometimes I use a simple horizon line as a starting point for my abstracts. Other times I use free forms both linear and organic to build my composition. Like my landscapes, my abstracts can be both a riot of color or a study of more muted tones with heavy use of grays, browns and whites.
Sources of Inspiration
Nature is not my only source of inspiration though. I can get very excited seeing what other artists are doing. As a result, I want to try their techniques and experiment with some of their palette combinations. I have been blessed to be able to attend workshops from some of the artists I admire like Bob Burridge https://robertburridge.com/ and Joe DiGiulio http://digiuliostudios.com/joseph . Many times I am also inspired by my neighbors at art festivals. I love to study their use of color, texture and shape.
My goal as an artist is to keep stretching, improving and re-inventing myself. As long as I am breathing I am sure that I will never be without inspiration for my paintings as our beautiful world is so amazing and visually exciting!