Phyllis Anderson
Painter based in Haddon Heights, NJ and Winter Park, CO
ABOUT
Phyllis Anderson is an award-winning artist who divides her time between Colorado and New Jersey. She earned a BFA in painting at the University of Texas in 1981, where she won a Ford Foundation competition in 1981, sending her on a month-long, European art history course. In 1983, Phyllis and her musician husband moved to New York, where she worked for a corporate art consultant who handled high quality, "blue chip" work. Phyllis concentrated on developing her own vision, and by the time her first child was born in 1986, she was making large-scale paintings that emphasized surface effects. After the birth of a second child, she sold or gave away the big paintings and downsized to a small apartment. She stopped practicing art for nearly 15 years. In 2004, now living outside Philadelphia, a small inheritance enabled her to set up a studio, painting while working part-time, selling work to friends and at a restaurant in Philadelphia. In 2015, she became a member of an artist co-op, Twenty-Two Gallery in Philadelphia, until 2019; in 2016, she was accepted as an artist member of the Noyes Museum of Art in New Jersey. Other professional memberships followed, including Artists Equity, the DaVinci Art Alliance, and InLiquid, all in Philadelphia, as well as Mana Contemporary in Jersey City, NJ. In 2018, Phyllis left her day-job as a budget analyst for a medical education company, and was able to devote herself full-time to studio practice. In 2020, she joined RGallery in Boulder, CO, and participated in a mural festival in Fraser, CO, where her mural was purchased for the Cozens Ranch Museum. She shows regularly in juried exhibits throughout the country. Her work is in private collections in Philadelphia, San Francisco, Denver, and Seattle.
ARTIST STATEMENT
I have been painting for nearly three decades, exploring process and outcome, meaning and metaphor. My recent work focuses on landscape and the wilderness experience. Like many of us, I am drawn to wild places and the elemental power of mountains, where we can experience a regeneration of the spirit and a connection to a larger reality. The landscape tradition has long embraced a range of artistic interpretations, and I enjoy exploring visionary, expressionist and abstract methods. Some pieces are place-specific, while others are less identifiable or even imaginary. The use of expressive mark-making in a variety of media creates energy, a dance of color across the surface. Fragments of text are sometimes used to add layers of meaning, while photographs help “document” the visual experience. These artworks describe a kinetic, mystic landscape, embracing the enduring rhythm and vibrancy of the high country.
Website: phyllisandersonart.com
Instagram: @phyllisandersonart