Kevin Anderson – Encinitas’ Most Prolific Artist – Encinitas Magazine April 2016 – Words & Photos by Kyle Thomas (Stories of Encinitas CA)

Kevin-Anderson-Portrait-by-Kyle-Thomas

Kevin-Anderson-Portrait-by-Kyle-Thomas

The character and quality of our most awesome City of Encinitas, in my opinion, is in large part defined and molded by the talented and creative people that have resided here through the generations. One such person of note is Encinitas’s very own, artist Kevin Anderson.

Kevin’s art is expressed as public art in the form of outdoor and indoor murals, which can be found all over Encinitas, San Diego and beyond, and Kevin is one of Encinitas’s most prolific painters, who can be frequently spotted outdoors along the coast between Del Mar and Encinitas painting the coastal scenes in his ‘plein air’ style.

Kevin-Anderson-Pipes-Ramp-Painting-Encinitas

Kevin Anderson “Pipes-Ramp Encinitas” Painting in the collection of Kyle Thomas

Kevin is not a transplant that arrived here later in life, that happens to be a great artist, but is, in fact, an artist who’s very inner artist being was a creation born of his own experience of having been raised in the special collective community us old timers fondly called ‘San Dieguito.’

“As a kid I grew up in Solana Beach, and then later in Cardiff. It was a great life. Went to the beach a lot in the summer. We lived the ‘Beach Blanket Bingo’ life in Solana Beach. Sunburned all day and partied all night for years and years, until I was older and out of high school.”

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Kyle Thomas with Kevin Anderson 1996

“My high school experience in the early seventies, while I really wasn’t into academics, was really rich in culture and art. The teachers there were the ones that pretty much paved the way for me to become an artist.”

“There were a couple of teachers, in particular, Mrs. Hanafin and Mrs. Delise, that were instrumental in opening my eyes to wanting to paint and draw, and kind of convinced me that that’s what I wanted to do with my life.”

Hanifan would take a student, put them in front of her, and sketch them and made it look just like them. When I saw her do that, I go, “I want to know how to do that!”

And then Mrs. Delise took a glass, it was actually a glass ashtray, put it on a table, with the light shining through the transparency, and did a color chalk drawing of it, that just blew my mind. I go, “I need to know how to do that!”

Kevin-Anderson-Leucadia-Gas-Station-Art-Mural-Painting

Kevin-Anderson-Leucadia-Gas-Station-Mural

“San Dieguito High School was just a great place to go. They had an open campus, so if I wanted to get away for a day, I could go surfing. It wasn’t so structured that it took the life out of a person. Actually, it was open enough to let you flourish, and do what you wanted to do. Mainly, it was the art that turned me on. From there I went to Palomar College, and then on to Long Beach State University, because of those teachers.”

“But I never left Encinitas. I always lived in Cardiff, while I was going to college. I would commute. On Mondays, I would go to Long Beach, stay up there, often times sleeping in my truck, and stay there all week and come back on Fridays to Cardiff.”

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Kevin Anderson Mural in Cardiff, CA.

“Living around here, it’s kind of like living a pretty good dream. If you can keep your mind focused on what’s still here, what’s the underlying beauty, regardless of the growth and the development. There’s still an underlying beauty of this place. It has a certain soul and feeling. As far as painting the area, it’s unlimited what you can paint around here, as far as the kind of painting I do, which is sort of realistic outdoor depictions of landscapes and seascapes.”

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Kevin-Anderson being interviewed by Larry-Himmel in Cardiff, CA.

“Around here, I have spent just a whole year just painting from Swamis to Seaside. I believe I did around sixty pictures and I never left those confines. From Swamis to Seaside and all in between and I never ran out of new views or new ideas to paint. I also like to go down to La Jolla, Sand Diego, I go up to Laguna Beach to paint. I find them all equally beautiful, but my hearts kind of here in Encinitas… that’s where I live, and I thrive pretty well here.”

Visit Kevin Anderson at www.artmurals.us

Rob-Machado_Kevin-Anderson_photo_Kyle-Thomas

Kevin Anderson with Rob Machado at South Cardiff State Beach/Seaside, in Cardiff, CA.

Leave a comment

  • Dana (Scritchfield) Jennings

    April 7, 2016 , 4:58 AM

    Hello Kyle, I was amazed at the surfboard art that Kevin created and donated to our 40th San Dieguito Hifh Scholl reunion last year ! he is truly a gem for our community!
  • Nick Huntdr

    April 7, 2016 , 1:46 PM

    Another good man comes from pillbox
  • john d kohler

    April 8, 2016 , 9:51 AM

    Kevin captures the soul of San Dieguito with his paintings and attitude. Great story.
    • Kyle

      April 10, 2016 , 12:55 PM

      Hi John, and thank you for your comment. "Kevin captures the soul of San Dieguito" was exactly what I wanted to convey
  • Mavis Lumpkin

    April 12, 2018 , 7:36 AM

    Love your style, your paintings! Got to get me one. Please contact me on how to view and possible buy