unless you're from my home state of mississippi, you've probably never heard of walter anderson. born in 1903, he painted the wildlife and landscapes of the mississippi gulf coast in a way that is full of light and rhythm. he would row over 12 miles of open ocean to camp out on horn island, a desolate barrier island in the gulf, and paint or sketch for weeks at a time. in his cottage he painted a little room full of wonder that nobody, not even his family, knew about until after his death. the room is now preserved in the walter anderson museum in ocean springs, ms. i remember walking into that room as a child and it changed my life forever.
a friend recently gave me a children's book about walter anderson. its beginning describes what it truly means to live as art:
"there once was a man whose love of nature was as wide as the world. there once was an artist who needed to paint as much as he needed to breathe.." -hester bass,
the secret world of walter anderson
anderson was completely self-taught, and lost himself in his art and love of nature to combat his mental illness. he escaped one hospital by scaling down a brick wall, drawing flying birds with a bar of soap on the bricks as he made his getaway. although known primarily for his watercolors, he also worked in ceramics and woodcuts. much of his work was lost during hurricane katrina, but his legacy lives on. he's the best american artist you've never heard of, and i'm so happy to share his art with beautiful people like you. xoxo
