Carmel Magazine

138 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 1 Anderson was recently inspired to explore new territor y. "For years, I worked a lot in black-and- white—it's such a powerful graphic medi- um—but I felt that I had lost my sense of color," she says. "So, I decided to dive back in and started doing watercolors again." After spending a couple of years doing watercolors and prints side by side, Anderson says, "This year, I chose to try my hand at oils." A recent show at the Carmel Art Association displayed a full range of Anderson's work, and spot- lighted her ability to bring animals to three-dimensional life on paper and canvas—and also served as a debut for her oil works. "I keep sketchbooks and journals as par t of my daily ar t practice," Ander- son says. "I have piles of them. When I did the Ar t Association show, I knew that I wanted to do something with those. They're full of daily recordings, color exercises plus musings and poetry. I star ted sharing them and people were encouraging, saying, 'You should do something with those.' " That "something" turned into a book, "Natural Inclinations: Pages from and Artist's Journal," published in 2020. "All the imagery at the show was created from those sketches," Anderson says. All of her children have finished col- lege — and all three are artists, inciden- tally: Ben holds a masters in fine art, musician Maddie is in a doctorate pro- gram in piano performance and Iain is a fine art photographer. Now, Anderson finds she has a little more time to devote to her own pursuits. "I'm doing a lot of writing," she says. "Journaling is now a near-daily practice. I haven't stopped oil painting because I really love it. I have a million oil paintings I want to do." The different disciplines she engages in have a way of feeding each other. "All my titles come from the thoughts and ideas I write in my journal," Anderson says. "Phrases become their own body of work, and that spurs ideas for visual work. And vice versa." Anderson's work can be viewed at the Carmel Art Association on Dolores between 5th and 6th. Her new book is also available there and at carmelart.org/artist/jennifer-anderson. You can also view her work on Instagram, @ravenpress_art. "Seeking Moments." Anderson meticulously researches her subjects. "I fall in love with every animal I work with." She says crows and ravens are probably the creatures she's most often depicted in her work through the years. Anderson's new book is a collection of thoughts, sketches and artwork from journals she's kept.

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