“When I paint a still life, I want it to be anything but still. I want it to shimmer with light. I want it to
rustle with movement. I want it to feel almost palpable.”
This is how Kurt Anderson described his floral paintings in a feature article in The Artist’s
Magazine. And although he works in many other genres – figurative, portrait, landscape, and
western themed work – his reputation as an artist has primarily been associated with his floral
still life and floral figurative paintings.
These paintings have won him top honors with the Oil Painters of America, the Salon
International and the Open Market National. He also won Grand Prize in International Artist
magazine’s 2004 Floral Painting Challenge.
“I try to paint the essence of what I’m seeing, painting only so much detail as is necessary to
capture that essence.” Anderson says. “This concept is, of course, at the center of the
naturalist/impressionist tradition in painting. But it has been my life’s study, and it is the
challenge that excites me every time I take up a brush.”
This attitude has a lot to do with Anderson’s attraction to flowers. “Flowers simply cannot be beat
as subject matter since they allow for the richest expression of color and the liveliest use of
brushwork.”
Anderson began painting in oils at the age of 12 when he took lessons from a professional artist
at the local recreation center in his home town of Cedar Falls, Iowa. Anderson eventually spent
four years in the traditional atelier or studio system of training under Minneapolis artist Richard
Lack. This makes him part of a master-pupil lineage that can be traced back to 19th century
masters such as Jacques Louis David.
Anderson spent nine years in Minnesota working in an accounting firm while continuing to
develop his skills as a painter. During this time he began to receive portrait commissions, and
his official portraits range from the Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court to the president
of Iowa State University.
Anderson also continued to paint more personal work, primarily florals and landscapes, and he
began selling these in galleries across the country. Family connections, and a desire to move to
the Southwest, brought him to Tucson, Arizona in 2001, where he has been pursuing his painting
full time. He married Dale LaFleur in 2004 and they now have two children, Henry and Ada.
Articles about Anderson have appeared in The Artist’s Magazine, International Artist, Australian
Artist and Southwest Art. He has been featured in seven books and is author of Realistic Oil
Painting Techniques (North Light Books).
"(Anderson's) techniques represent the collective wisdom of generations of artists - artists who've
spent their lives learning to see, to understand what they saw, and then inventing ways to describe
it in two dimensions...It's a nice gem to find in the middle of a sometimes confusing art world in
which the skillful draftsman takes a back seat to the newest fad."
- Editor Michael Ward in The Artist's Magazine
National Exhibitions
2010 • Oil Painters of America National, Legacy Gallery, Scottsdale, Arizona
2008 • Oil Painters of America National, Dana Gallery, Missoula, Montana
2007 • Oil Painters of America National, Whistle Pik Gallery, Fredericksburg, Texas
2007 • Salon International, Greenhouse Gallery of Art, San Antonio, Texas
2006 • Mountain Oyster Club's 37th Annual Contemporary Western Art Show, Tucson, Arizona
2006 • Third International ARC Salon Competition, on-line exhibition
2006 • Oil Painters of America Western Regional, Lee Youngman Galleries, Calistoga, California
2006 • Oil Painters of America National, Dana Gallery, Missoula, Montana
2005 • Oil Painters of America National, Hilligoss Galleries, Chicago, Illinois
2005 • Salon International, Greenhouse Gallery of Art, San Antonio, Texas
2004 • Oil Painters of America National, Howard/Mandville Gallery, Kirkland, Washington
2004 • Salon International, Greenhouse Gallery of Art, San Antonio, Texas
2004 • Los Ranchos, El Presidio Gallery, Tucson, Arizona
2004 • Open Market National Juried Exhibition, Tubac Center of the Arts, Tubac, Arizona
2003 • National Miniature Showcase, Howard/Mandville Gallery, Kirkland, Washington
2003 • Oil Painters of America National, Nichols Taos Gallery, Taos, New Mexico
2003 • Salon International, Greenhouse Gallery of Art, San Antonio, Texas
2002 • Oil Painters of America National, Hilligoss Galleries, Chicago, Illinois
2001 • Oil Painters of America National, Zantman Art Galleries, Palm Desert, California
2000 • Oil Painters of America National, Gallery Americana, Carmel, California
1999 • KLH National Showcase, Bennington Center for the Arts, Bennington, Vermont
1999 • Oil Painters of America National, Vanier Gallery, Scottsdale, Arizona
1998 • Equine Artists of America, Museum of the Horse, Lexington, Kentucky
1997 • Equine Artists of America, Museum of the Horse, Lexington, Kentucky
1993 • The American Still Life, The Minnesota Museum of Art, St. Paul, Minnesota
1993 • The National Heritage Showcase, Heritage Art Gallery, Alexandria, Virginia
1990 • The Academic Dialogue, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Awards and Recognition
2008 • Second Place, Tucson Plein Air Painters Society, Distinguished Artists Member Show
2006 • Finalist in the Landscape and Still Life Categories, Third International ARC Salon
2006 • Award of Excellence, Oil Painters of America Western Regional Juried Exhibition
2005 • Award of Excellence, Oil Painters of America National Juried Exhibition
2005 • First Place, Tucson Plein Air Painters Society, Distinguished Artists Member Show
2004 • Grand Prize, Floral and Still Life Competition, International Artist Magazine
2004 • Honorable Mention for Artistic Excellence, Salon International
2004 • First Place, Tucson Plein Air Painters Society Annual Quick Draw
2004 • Third Place, Los Ranchos, El Presidio Gallery
2004 • Best in Show, Open Market National Juried Exhibition, Tubac Center of the Arts
2004 • Best in Show, Tucson Plein Air Painters Society, Distinguished Artists Member Show
2004 • First Place and People’s Choice Master’s Meed Award, Tubac Center of the Arts Annual
Juried Exhibit
2003 • Award of Excellence, Oil Painters of America National
2003 • First Place, Tucson Plein Air Painters Society Annual Quick Draw
2003 • Second Place, TPAPS Goes To Tubac, (Tucson Plein Air Painters Society)
2002 • Awarded Signature Member status, Tucson Plein Air Painters Society
2001 • Awarded Signature Member status, Oil Painters of America
1996 • Minnesota Book Award, for authoring Realistic Oil Painting Techniques
1985 • Salmagundi Club Award, New York Salmagundi Club
1983 • Stacey Foundation Scholarship Award
Selected Publications
2005 • How Did You Paint That: 100 Ways to Paint Still Lifes and Florals, International Artist Books
2004 December • Southwest Art, Artists to Watch (article)
2004 June • The Artist's Magazine, Real-life Rocks (article)
2003 • The Simple Secret to Better Painting, by Greg Albert, North Light Books
2003 January • The Artist's Magazine, Stretching Tradition (article)
2002 July • The Artist's Magazine, Stay Intense (article)
2001 October • The Artist's Magazine, Making Color Count (article)
2001 April • The Artist's Magazine, Breaking the Stillness (article)
2000 August • The Artist's Magazine, Exploring Impasto (article)
2000 July • Australian Artist, Do-it-Yourself Style (article)
1999 • The Best of Flower Painting 2, by Rachel Wolf, North Light Books
1998 • The Best of Portrait Painting, by Rachel Wolf, North Light Books
1997 • The Best of Flower Painting, by Kathryn Kipp, North Light Books
1996 • The North Light Guide to Artist's Techniques, by Phil Metzger, North Light Books
1995 • Realistic Oil Painting Techniques, by Kurt Anderson, North Light Books
1991 Summer • American Arts Quarterly, (article)
1985 • Realism in Revolution: The Art of the Boston School, Taylor Publishing, Dallas, 1985
Selected Clients & Collections
Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, Mural "Prairie Sky" installed in the Parks Library
Minnesota Supreme Court, St. Paul, Minnesota, portrait of Chief Justice A.M. "Sandy" Keith
St. Philips Episcopal Church, Tucson, Arizona, 14 Stations of the Cross
Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, portrait of Robert and Ellen Parks, President and Wife
The St. Paul Companies, St. Paul, Minnesota, portrait of Ronald Hubbs, President
Hormel Foods Corporation, Austin, Minnesota, portrait of Richard L. Knowlton, President
Dutton/Penguin Books, New York, New York, cover for Crocodile Burning by Michael Williams
Abbott Northwestern Hospital, Minneapolis, Minnesota, portrait of Carl Holmes, Benefactor
Gallery Representation
Nichols Taos Fine Art Gallery, Taos, New Mexico
Hilligoss Galleries, Chicago, Illinois
Studio of Long Grove, Long Grove, Illinois
Max Gallery, Tucson, Arizona
rustle with movement. I want it to feel almost palpable.”
This is how Kurt Anderson described his floral paintings in a feature article in The Artist’s
Magazine. And although he works in many other genres – figurative, portrait, landscape, and
western themed work – his reputation as an artist has primarily been associated with his floral
still life and floral figurative paintings.
These paintings have won him top honors with the Oil Painters of America, the Salon
International and the Open Market National. He also won Grand Prize in International Artist
magazine’s 2004 Floral Painting Challenge.
“I try to paint the essence of what I’m seeing, painting only so much detail as is necessary to
capture that essence.” Anderson says. “This concept is, of course, at the center of the
naturalist/impressionist tradition in painting. But it has been my life’s study, and it is the
challenge that excites me every time I take up a brush.”
This attitude has a lot to do with Anderson’s attraction to flowers. “Flowers simply cannot be beat
as subject matter since they allow for the richest expression of color and the liveliest use of
brushwork.”
Anderson began painting in oils at the age of 12 when he took lessons from a professional artist
at the local recreation center in his home town of Cedar Falls, Iowa. Anderson eventually spent
four years in the traditional atelier or studio system of training under Minneapolis artist Richard
Lack. This makes him part of a master-pupil lineage that can be traced back to 19th century
masters such as Jacques Louis David.
Anderson spent nine years in Minnesota working in an accounting firm while continuing to
develop his skills as a painter. During this time he began to receive portrait commissions, and
his official portraits range from the Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court to the president
of Iowa State University.
Anderson also continued to paint more personal work, primarily florals and landscapes, and he
began selling these in galleries across the country. Family connections, and a desire to move to
the Southwest, brought him to Tucson, Arizona in 2001, where he has been pursuing his painting
full time. He married Dale LaFleur in 2004 and they now have two children, Henry and Ada.
Articles about Anderson have appeared in The Artist’s Magazine, International Artist, Australian
Artist and Southwest Art. He has been featured in seven books and is author of Realistic Oil
Painting Techniques (North Light Books).
"(Anderson's) techniques represent the collective wisdom of generations of artists - artists who've
spent their lives learning to see, to understand what they saw, and then inventing ways to describe
it in two dimensions...It's a nice gem to find in the middle of a sometimes confusing art world in
which the skillful draftsman takes a back seat to the newest fad."
- Editor Michael Ward in The Artist's Magazine
National Exhibitions
2010 • Oil Painters of America National, Legacy Gallery, Scottsdale, Arizona
2008 • Oil Painters of America National, Dana Gallery, Missoula, Montana
2007 • Oil Painters of America National, Whistle Pik Gallery, Fredericksburg, Texas
2007 • Salon International, Greenhouse Gallery of Art, San Antonio, Texas
2006 • Mountain Oyster Club's 37th Annual Contemporary Western Art Show, Tucson, Arizona
2006 • Third International ARC Salon Competition, on-line exhibition
2006 • Oil Painters of America Western Regional, Lee Youngman Galleries, Calistoga, California
2006 • Oil Painters of America National, Dana Gallery, Missoula, Montana
2005 • Oil Painters of America National, Hilligoss Galleries, Chicago, Illinois
2005 • Salon International, Greenhouse Gallery of Art, San Antonio, Texas
2004 • Oil Painters of America National, Howard/Mandville Gallery, Kirkland, Washington
2004 • Salon International, Greenhouse Gallery of Art, San Antonio, Texas
2004 • Los Ranchos, El Presidio Gallery, Tucson, Arizona
2004 • Open Market National Juried Exhibition, Tubac Center of the Arts, Tubac, Arizona
2003 • National Miniature Showcase, Howard/Mandville Gallery, Kirkland, Washington
2003 • Oil Painters of America National, Nichols Taos Gallery, Taos, New Mexico
2003 • Salon International, Greenhouse Gallery of Art, San Antonio, Texas
2002 • Oil Painters of America National, Hilligoss Galleries, Chicago, Illinois
2001 • Oil Painters of America National, Zantman Art Galleries, Palm Desert, California
2000 • Oil Painters of America National, Gallery Americana, Carmel, California
1999 • KLH National Showcase, Bennington Center for the Arts, Bennington, Vermont
1999 • Oil Painters of America National, Vanier Gallery, Scottsdale, Arizona
1998 • Equine Artists of America, Museum of the Horse, Lexington, Kentucky
1997 • Equine Artists of America, Museum of the Horse, Lexington, Kentucky
1993 • The American Still Life, The Minnesota Museum of Art, St. Paul, Minnesota
1993 • The National Heritage Showcase, Heritage Art Gallery, Alexandria, Virginia
1990 • The Academic Dialogue, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Awards and Recognition
2008 • Second Place, Tucson Plein Air Painters Society, Distinguished Artists Member Show
2006 • Finalist in the Landscape and Still Life Categories, Third International ARC Salon
2006 • Award of Excellence, Oil Painters of America Western Regional Juried Exhibition
2005 • Award of Excellence, Oil Painters of America National Juried Exhibition
2005 • First Place, Tucson Plein Air Painters Society, Distinguished Artists Member Show
2004 • Grand Prize, Floral and Still Life Competition, International Artist Magazine
2004 • Honorable Mention for Artistic Excellence, Salon International
2004 • First Place, Tucson Plein Air Painters Society Annual Quick Draw
2004 • Third Place, Los Ranchos, El Presidio Gallery
2004 • Best in Show, Open Market National Juried Exhibition, Tubac Center of the Arts
2004 • Best in Show, Tucson Plein Air Painters Society, Distinguished Artists Member Show
2004 • First Place and People’s Choice Master’s Meed Award, Tubac Center of the Arts Annual
Juried Exhibit
2003 • Award of Excellence, Oil Painters of America National
2003 • First Place, Tucson Plein Air Painters Society Annual Quick Draw
2003 • Second Place, TPAPS Goes To Tubac, (Tucson Plein Air Painters Society)
2002 • Awarded Signature Member status, Tucson Plein Air Painters Society
2001 • Awarded Signature Member status, Oil Painters of America
1996 • Minnesota Book Award, for authoring Realistic Oil Painting Techniques
1985 • Salmagundi Club Award, New York Salmagundi Club
1983 • Stacey Foundation Scholarship Award
Selected Publications
2005 • How Did You Paint That: 100 Ways to Paint Still Lifes and Florals, International Artist Books
2004 December • Southwest Art, Artists to Watch (article)
2004 June • The Artist's Magazine, Real-life Rocks (article)
2003 • The Simple Secret to Better Painting, by Greg Albert, North Light Books
2003 January • The Artist's Magazine, Stretching Tradition (article)
2002 July • The Artist's Magazine, Stay Intense (article)
2001 October • The Artist's Magazine, Making Color Count (article)
2001 April • The Artist's Magazine, Breaking the Stillness (article)
2000 August • The Artist's Magazine, Exploring Impasto (article)
2000 July • Australian Artist, Do-it-Yourself Style (article)
1999 • The Best of Flower Painting 2, by Rachel Wolf, North Light Books
1998 • The Best of Portrait Painting, by Rachel Wolf, North Light Books
1997 • The Best of Flower Painting, by Kathryn Kipp, North Light Books
1996 • The North Light Guide to Artist's Techniques, by Phil Metzger, North Light Books
1995 • Realistic Oil Painting Techniques, by Kurt Anderson, North Light Books
1991 Summer • American Arts Quarterly, (article)
1985 • Realism in Revolution: The Art of the Boston School, Taylor Publishing, Dallas, 1985
Selected Clients & Collections
Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, Mural "Prairie Sky" installed in the Parks Library
Minnesota Supreme Court, St. Paul, Minnesota, portrait of Chief Justice A.M. "Sandy" Keith
St. Philips Episcopal Church, Tucson, Arizona, 14 Stations of the Cross
Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, portrait of Robert and Ellen Parks, President and Wife
The St. Paul Companies, St. Paul, Minnesota, portrait of Ronald Hubbs, President
Hormel Foods Corporation, Austin, Minnesota, portrait of Richard L. Knowlton, President
Dutton/Penguin Books, New York, New York, cover for Crocodile Burning by Michael Williams
Abbott Northwestern Hospital, Minneapolis, Minnesota, portrait of Carl Holmes, Benefactor
Gallery Representation
Nichols Taos Fine Art Gallery, Taos, New Mexico
Hilligoss Galleries, Chicago, Illinois
Studio of Long Grove, Long Grove, Illinois
Max Gallery, Tucson, Arizona
Biography
"Very strong work. Skill and passion
and intuitiveness combined.
Wonderful, subtle figure against
texture of flowers. Inspired."
- Harley Brown on Girl With Peonies,
awarded Best of Show, Open Market
National Juried Exhibition, Tubac
Center of the Arts
and intuitiveness combined.
Wonderful, subtle figure against
texture of flowers. Inspired."
- Harley Brown on Girl With Peonies,
awarded Best of Show, Open Market
National Juried Exhibition, Tubac
Center of the Arts
Kurt Anderson and Harley Brown
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