Self-portrait of an artist

Laguna Beach painter Benjamin Anderson is one of 10 artists featured

on “Portrait of an Artist,” an online program of the Smithsonian

National Portrait Gallery’s.

The site features information about Anderson and other artists

from around the country who have entered the gallery’s portrait

competition.

“In terms of PR, this is a good opportunity for me,” he said.

“I’ve been doing art professionally for the past four years, but I’m

not famous yet. I’ve been getting more commissions because of the

portrait site. Now people know I’m an artist.”

“Portrait of an Artist” is an online journal in which selected

artists display and comment on their work and themselves. The 10

artists were selected from entrants in the Outwin Boochever Portrait

Competition 2006, which is run by the portrait gallery.

“It’s cool because it is giving people insight into how artists

work and into the up-down life of being an artist,” Anderson said.

Anderson’s entry, “Ms. Leigh-Anne Tucker,” is a near-photographic,

oil-on-Masonite depiction of the model Leigh-Anne Tucker submerged in

clear water.

“She’s a friend that I met about a year ago,” Anderson explained.

“I saw her in the water one day and it hit me. That was my

inspiration. She was actually the second person I painted in this

way. The first was a complete stranger so I could perfect the

technique.”

In his journal, he gives an explanation of why he likes the

technique: “I found that the water allowed me to abstract her figure,

to interpret her depth of presence and convey a less physical

representation. I chose to enter this painting into the contest

because it embodies what I am searching for in my artistic endeavors:

A different take on things, a new and fresh perspective on

portraiture and people’s views of themselves and others.”

Anderson also says that he believes every person has a story

“etched into his or her face” and that it is the job of a portrait to

tell a little part of that story.

Anderson, 27, has studied art in Italy, Alaska and San Francisco.

He holds a BFA in sculpture from the Academy of Art University in San

Francisco. Originally intending to study graphic design, Anderson

said that his time in Italy in 1997 convinced him that art was what

he wanted to do.

After graduation from the academy, Anderson went into painting

because his apartment in San Francisco didn’t have enough room to

store sculptures and, more to the point, the materials required for

sculpting are much more expensive than those for painting.

“I hadn’t even heard of any ‘National Portrait Gallery’ until a

few months ago,” Anderson said when asked how he got into the

competition. “I was doing a commission for a girl in La Jolla, and

her parents saw it in the newspaper. They cut it out and showed it to

me.”

To visit “Portrait of an Artist,” go to

o7www.portraitcompetition.si.eduf7. For more information on

Benjamin Anderson, go to o7www.benjaminanderson.comf7.