Artist Bill Anderson captures the power
and skill of baseball in his fine art paintings and drawings
Sunset Beach, Calif.--You'll find
only homeruns this baseball season when you score a victory by visiting
Anderson Art Gallery and its new baseball art exhibit. A former
semi-pro baseball pitcher, Bill Anderson of Huntington Beach, captures
the essence of America's most beloved summer sport with his original art
that's won awards and has been featured in books.
 "I love baseball and was lucky
enough to have the opportunity to play my fair share of it," says the successful
painter, art dealer and gallery owner. From throwing a ball to
artfully applying a brush to canvas, it's all in the wrist, or partially
so, says the pitcher turned painter. With many successes under his belt,
Anderson has been featured in the top galleries around the globe. His
art includes a variety of subjects from buildings and landscapes to
people in motion. Bringing his subjects to life, his baseball series
includes Roger Maris,
Reggie Jackson, Ted Williams, Lou Gehrig and Mickey Mantle.
(Bill Anderson is pictured with one of his favorite baseball pastel
drawings of Jackie Robinson.)
Celebrating not only baseball, but African Americans in the sport, Anderson pays
homage to Robinson, the first African American to play Major League
Baseball 60 years ago. Jackie Robinson played second baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers beginning on April 15, 1947. To view great baseball art, Anderson Art Gallery
is located at 16812 Pacific Coast Highway,
Sunset Beach, CA 90742. Open Fridays and Saturdays from 1 to 10 p.m.,
and Sundays from 1 to 8 p.m., call before going or arrange and
appointment: (562) 592-4393.
When we first visited the fine
arts gallery next to Captain Jacks restaurant (home to the best Alaskan
King Crab Legs in Southern California), an artist walked into Anderson's
shop, hoping to be able to hang her works on his walls.
Explaining kindly and politely
that he represented and only had room for a select handful of the
world's top watercolorists, Anderson said that he gets at least one such
request per week. The former art teacher never wants to discourage
budding art students, so his rejections are dished out in a friendly
manner.
In a gallery that's seen the likes
of Cameron Diaz, who was asked by Anderson's wife, Ausma, if she would
like to model for paintings, to collectors that fly into L.A. just to
acquire collector pieces, the small Sunset Beach gallery is an incredible gem chock-full of
amazing watercolors you could travel the globe and never find in one
place.
It is here that Anderson
represents some of the originators of a genre such as Milford Zornes, an
American watercolorist credited as one of the founders of a style of
watercolor that became popular in the early to mid 1900's.
Be sure to drop by the friendly
shop and bring your wallet. Like Cameron Diaz, you may feel
the urge to buy something. Returning to the Sunset Beach art
gallery with a plastic baggie filled with money, the owners
still did not know that she was a celebrity, but they decided that the
young lady definitely had style.
About Bill Anderson: A painter who
works in oil on canvas, watercolor and print making, the skilled
craftsman also sculpts in paper, clay, ceramics and bronze.
Anderson's paintings and sculptures have been displayed in Art Expo
West, Luckman Fine Arts Complex, Minesota State University, Palm Springs
Dessert Museum, Carnegie Art Museum in Oxnard, Museum of Modern Art in
Guadalajara, the Galería Coyoacán and the National Museum of Watercolor
in Mexico City. Who's Who in American Art and Who's Who in
American Education are a few publications recognizing his talents.
He and his artist/wife, Ausma, have co-owned the Sunset Beach gallery
for nearly a decade.
Other paintings and art by Bill
Anderson that are represented in his gallery include:
Mothers Bar
Sunset
Aquatic Park
Taco Surf |
