Famous Artist Loves Horsing Around

By C. MacDonald

Bill Anderson has always "horsed around." As a 5-year-old, the Minnesota native loved watching Hopalong Cassidy on TV but it was the horses on the show that captured his imagination and inspired him to start drawing them.

"There was just something about the quiet, graceful movements," said the retired school art teacher, whose work is in museums and galleries around the World. "I especially like to capture their emotions--when they are angry, afraid or at peace."

Famous 19th Century Artist Charles M. Russell's horse paintings also inspired Bill's "horses," as did Franz Marc's famous painting, "Blue Horse."

Bill really has a knack for capturing horses, their personality and motion. Some of his breathtaking work even looks 3-D. He has created memorable horses in every imaginable format, including watercolor, oil, acrylic, pastel, clay, bronze, cast paper, lithograph, linoleum block print, etchings, monotype--you name it, he has done it.

Even the huge symbol atop the Bill Anderson Art Gallery in Sunset Beach is an abstract, geometric horse in motion, which not only captures several moments in time but captures your attention, when driving down Pacific Coast Highway. You see the huge horse above the door and know you want to go inside.

Bill draws every type of horse, from Circus to Lipizzaner Stallion to Farm and beyond. They are in every position, from galloping to eating to sleeping. Some are saucer-size paintings, some 6-foot high and 8-feet wide (others are sensationally sculpted). And they are on every type of paper, wood and canvas. If he draws people on horses, it's usually women, because the female figure is so beautiful.

His horse art is legendary to Sierra Heritage Magazine readers and to the purchasers of many popular books, which he has illustrated. I'm so honored to have Bill creating horses for my magazine stories and books. He really brings you into the story--You can hear the horses whinnying, feel their power and motion, see their incredible beauty and even taste the dust from their gallop. Thanks, Bill, for all your "horsing around!"