Today we’d like to introduce you to Whitney L. Anderson.
Hi Whitney, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
My name is Whitney L. Anderson and I am a self-taught multi-disciplinary fine artist practicing in the mediums of drawing since I was three, painting since I was 15, and collage since I was 27. I was born into a 3rd generation commercial fishing family and raised on my dad’s boat in rural Alaska during the summers. I grew up in Breckenridge and was a former ski athlete racing for Team Summit (1996-2000). I later took up track and XC in Highschool and attended Duke University on a full athletic scholarship, graduating in 2009 with a B.A. in Fine Arts.
My signature art style is contemporary realism with a flare of pop-cultural nostalgia. I consider myself “old school, raw, and a purist” in that I do not intermix different mediums or partake in the liberties of this modern tech era to achieve my collage masterpieces. Everything is free-handed and that stems from the thousands of hours, I’ve spent refining my fundamental art skills ever since I picked up a pencil 30 years ago. Reflecting on my childhood, I often tell people “I didn’t like coloring books or tracing, I was always a blank, white slate kid.”
I feel that I am a mid-career with several goals to achieve as far as exhibitions go. I want to display my work internationally in Tokyo, Berlin, London, and Copenhagen. My last exhibit was in Aland, Scandinavia in 2017.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Having the strength to maintain authenticity with myself, not sell out and make art just so I can sell it. That’s why I had side jobs to support my purist way of art: drawing, painting, collaging whatever I was passionate about. If people loved it, great! I would be pleased, but creating true to my OWN vision was my top priority and still is. Straying authentic will pay dividends down the road.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am known for my college work. After 12 years of painting, I discovered my knack for collage portraiture: Creating with hand-cut out squares from recycled magazines. It’s quite novel because my collages look like a painting when the viewer stands back. It’s almost an illusion and I always have to tell people it’s 100% cutouts and no painting involved. My painting past definitely laid the foundation to create these collages.
What were you like growing up?
I consider myself a dynamic individual. This is brought on by my upbringing and innate personality both reflected in the variety of work I do and the prolific nature of my body of work. I am whimsical, emotive, calculating, and serious. I live under the threshold of controlled chaos. I like achieving and creating in life- those are the most gratifying things at the end of the day.
Glorifying God with the skills and work ethic he has bestowed on me is an everyday blessing. I’m so glad to be working for myself, too, I never knew I was going to be this entrepreneur artist but, as they say, “necessity is the mother of invention” and I was compelled to create art and my own path. It was daunting at times but I think instinctually I knew I would overcome obstacles.
Plus, the entrepreneur mindset ran in my bloodline: I come from a 4th generation commercial fishing family so my dad and his dads’ were all self-employed captains of their own ships.
Contact Info:
- Email: whitneylaurelanderson@gmail.com
- Website: www.whitneylanderson.com
- Instagram: @whitneylanderson_art
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ8HmreE86DKVYFLWeD8hxg
Image Credits:
Katie Pierce Photography and Memry Anderson
