We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Walt Anderson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Walt thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
I’ve lived in Prescott, Arizona since 1991, and for 27 years, I was a Professor of Environmental Studies at innovative Prescott College. In addition to ecology and conservation classes, I taught a course in Interpreting Nature through Art & Photography, as I have deep roots in the arts as a powerful complement to the sciences. I always emphasized to my students the value and necessity of “informed activism.” When I retired from Prescott College, I began again to paint wildlife seriously, and I was elected as a Signature Artist in the international group, Artists for Conservation (https://www.artistsforconservation.org/artists/8278). I also got involved with Artists and Biologists Unite for Nature (ABUN), founded by Kitty Harvill (see https://canvasrebel.com/meet-kitty-harvill/?fbclid=IwAR1qU7kTlILKwv9a4lvc545WomV2-EGZ2Oh115qLDrmyEIbctnj9AtKIyp8) and Christoph Hrdina, who incidentally was my partner on a number of natural history trips I led in Brazil. I contributed to many of the art/conservation projects of ABUN, and I took the lead in providing reference photos and background information for two major projects: Believing in Bwindi (the Ugandan national park famed for its Mountain Gorillas) and Spring for the Dells (conservation efforts directed toward saving a unique mountain range, the Granite Dells, in Prescott). Working with two organizations I helped to create, the Granite Dells Preservation Foundation and the political action committee, Save the Dells, I have been able through my writing, photography, and painting to help build a powerful constituency for the Dells. The good news: our efforts have paid off, and now thousands of acres of land in and around the Granite Dells have been saved from development. I write a weekly photo essay called “Wild Wednesday,” and I use my painting skills to increase awareness of and support for the animals with whom we share this beautiful planet. I am beginning to organize the essays into a series of books that will continue to inform and inspire my followers.
Walt, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
When I became a professor at Prescott College (“For the Liberal Arts, the Environment, and Social Justice”), I felt like the college had been designed perfectly for the diversity of interests, skills, and experiences I had developed in my entire life up to that point. My background in liberal arts goes back to my childhood, when I achieved the Eagle Scout rank in Boy Scouts and became, at age 14, a merit badge counselor in a variety of interdisciplinary subjects. I studied wildlife biology and resource ecology at three major universities and started an innovative program of access and interpretation in the singular mountain range, the Sutter Buttes, in California. In addition to co-founding an art gallery, teaching, writing, photographing, and painting, I began leading natural history expeditions and safaris around the world, and that has continued to today. I became an expert in the field of ecotourism and have published on that subject. I have served on several non-profits dedicated to conservation and improving local livelihoods in Africa and North America. What sets me apart, I believe, is a naturalist’s perceptual flexibility: I see the big picture while attending to fine details. I understand how ecosystems work, and I know animals well enough to capture their essence with fidelity and love in my artistic pursuits. For a recent one-man art show, I wrote this: “We often don’t see nature clearly; we may apply a name and then cease to observe closely, depriving ourselves and our subject of earned intimacy. I want you, the viewer of my paintings, to look more closely, to discover something that would not be apparent if you met an organism in the wild. If we can see clearly, we are blessed with priceless discoveries. Our human world is filled with distractions, many of them not good for our psyche. But marvel at the beauty of an animal well portrayed, and you can for a moment escape the confusion of modern society and connect with something much bigger and grander.”
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
In addition to my deep passion for connecting with nature on a personal level, I am motivated to share my knowledge with others. When I watch a Golden Eagle glide over my head when I am in the craggy Granite Dells or look a Leopard in the eye while on safari in Tanzania, I feel an urge to find ways to share that exhilaration with people who may never have that kind of direct experience. I have developed a “voice” that comes through in paintings, photos, and/or words, a voice inviting others to find their own personal connections to nature. I see some of the results directly or indirectly (sometimes learning much later that a person’s life was changed thanks to my sharing), and that reinforces my creative journey.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
Nature has kept me sane and healthy. I was drafted and served in the Vietnam War, and occasional momentary sights of birds in flight or a sunset over the rice paddies gave me great joy and a sense of peace. Even today, with the various pressures that normal life brings to us all, I find renewal and inspiration in the natural world. When I paint an animal, I paint the eyes first, as then I can feel the source of life. Then I shift into right brain mode and seem to interact with the subject synergistically. Being able to share my love of nature through various media provides further pleasure and reward. Finally, if my creative efforts contribute to conservation, then the circle becomes complete.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.artistsforconservation.org/artists/8278
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/walt.anderson.79/
- Other: http://www.geolobo.com/
Image Credits
Walt Anderson Beth Davidow Micah Riegner Moldovanos.com