Carmel Valley Afternoon, by CVAA Featured Artist Ben Anderson

Benjamin Anderson is a visual artist and teacher who has made the Monterey Peninsula his home since 2007. Anderson captures the dynamic landscapes of California, the Midwest, and New England in oil painting.  He has become known for his award winning contemporary-traditional oil paintings.   Anderson grew in both Vermont and California, as a jazz drummer and multi-instrumentalist.  His appreciation for music and nature are fused together in his visual art.   The golden landscapes of California are one of Anderson’s favorite subjects. The California series manifests his experience and captures the beautiful natural environment during the Golden Hour. The lighting in the paintings reflects the moments that so many people come to know and love about this beautiful state.  The piece, Fall Hues, painted in Carmel Valley, was selected for California Art Club’s state exhibition, Celebrating California 2022.    Anderson is also part of the society of Oil Painters of America, and has been awarded solo shows in academia, juried awards for regional and state shows, artists residencies, and an Artist Grant.  He was selected to be one of the 21 under 31 featured artists for South West Art magazine’s national competition for 2022.   As part of his appreciation for oil painting and the visual arts, Anderson teaches painting methods, lithographic printmaking, and drawing to learners of all ages in fine art and illustration. He currently works in higher education in digital 3D design and modeling, and color theory.   He taught at Bowling Green State University, Tennessee Gov’t School for the Arts, the Osher Life Long Learning Institute at California State University Monterey Bay, and currently works at Hartnell College.   Anderson is a represented artist in Carmel and was juried into the Carmel Valley Art Association in 2022.

Find more examples of the artists' work on display at the Carmel Valley Art Association Gallery.