Painter is featured on Smithsonian website

Costa Mesa painter Benjamin Anderson is one of 10 artists featured on

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

National Portrait Gallery’s website.

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,” Anderson

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

featured artists were selected from entrants in the Outwin Boochever

Portrait Competition 2006, which is run by the National Portrait

Gallery.

Asked how he felt to be part of the journal, Anderson said, “It’s

cool because it is giving people insight into how artists work and

into the up-down life of being an artist.”

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

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

clear water.

“She’s a friend that I met about a year ago,” Anderson said. “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 said 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 bachelor’s degree in sculpture from the Academy of Art

University in San Francisco. Originally a graphics design major,

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

what he really wanted to do.

After graduating 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, because the materials

required for sculpting are 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.”

Being featured on “Portrait of an Artist” is not a guarantee of

selection as a semifinalist in the competition.

The Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition is the first nationwide

portrait competition to be held in the United States. The call for

submissions started on Jan. 1 and ended Sept. 6.

For more information on the competition, or to visit “Portrait of

an Artist,” visit o7www.portraitcompetition.si.eduf7. For more

information on Benjamin Anderson, visit o7

www.benjaminanderson.comf7.

An entry from Anderson’s journal:

September 1, 2005, 5:31 p.m.

I am writing this as I head toward San Francisco for this next

show. In tow are some still wet paintings and one relieved and tired

artist. And I’m happy to say that everything that needed to be done

is done; paintings painted, promo printed, weddings attended and

friends attended to.

My last portrait commission is finished (a bold word for an artist

to use) and I’m looking forward to getting back in the studio to

start the next, as well as begin some more aquatic paintings. This

drive to San Francisco will be a nice time to reflect on what I’ve

accomplished in these past two months and allow me to focus on what I

want to achieve in the months to come. I’m a little reluctant to

leave the studio for fear of having to push myself all over again to

get back into the painting mode, as it’s sometimes tough to get the

ball rolling after a break. But for right now I’m looking forward to

feeling the energy of the city again and enjoying the next week

seeing family, friends, the city life and, if all goes well, selling

some paintings.

As a side note, best of wishes to all those in Louisiana right

now. I have been consumed by the images coming out of New Orleans and

surrounding areas. The power of nature is a humbling sight and can

put many things in perspective.

o7-Benjamin Anderson

f7