Liberty, MO
About Mark Anderson:
Mark Alan Anderson is an artist, art educator, and writer whose work explores the meeting points between the natural and human-built environments. His plein air practice is a dialogue with place—capturing rural structures, urban edges, and the quiet overlap of nature and architecture. Working on location in small formats, Anderson uses traditional gouache, ink, and mixed media to interpret shifting light and atmosphere through limited palettes and gestural marks. Favoring design and essence over detail, his work reflects a search for the character of a place through color, geometry, and movement. Influences include Andrew Wyeth and Richard Diebenkorn.
Selected exhibitions
- Stillman & Birn Featured Artist - Stillman & Birn, 2025
- Buttonwood Gallery - Kansas City, MO, 2025
- Paint Marceline Plein Air - Marceline, MO, 2025
- Brush Creek Plein Air - Kansas City, MO, 2025
- Historic West Bottoms Plein Air - Kansas City, MO, 2025
- Group Exhibition - Kansas City, MO, 2025
- Historic West Bottoms Plein Air - Kansas City, MO, 2023
- Kansas City Parks Plein Air - Kansas City, MO, 2019
- Brush Creek Plein Air - Kansas City, MO, 2019
- Brush Creek Plein Air Exhibition - Kansas City, MO, 2018
- Stillman & Birn Featured Artist - Stillman & Birn, 2018
- Sanctuary: An Artist's Perspective - Martha's Vineyard Artist Association, 2018
- Kansas City Water Gardens Tour Featured Artist - Martha Lafite Nature Sanctuary, 2018
- HALO Art Exhibition "This is my story" - Kansas City, MO, 2017
- Urban Sketchers "Day in the Life Of" Featured Artist - Urban Sketchers, 2017
- Strathmore Artist Papers Featured Artist - Strathmore Artist Papers, 2017
- Pakistani Cargo Truck Community Art Project - Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2016
- Group Exhibition - Columbia, MO, 2015
- Pianos on Parade - Union Station, Kansas City, MO, 2015
- Liberty Arts Squared - Liberty, MO, 2014
- Liberty Arts Squared - Liberty, MO, 2013
- Solo Exhibition of Plein Air Paintings - GCC Gallery, Gladstone, MO, 2011
- Solo Exhibition - GCC Gallery, Gladstone, MO, 2010
- "artist|teacher" Group Exhibition - GCC Gallery, Gladstone, MO, 2009
- Group Exhibition - Red Door Studios, Kansas City, MO, 2009
- Group Exhibition - Columbia, MO, 2008
- Group Exhibition - Missouri State University Missouri Fine Arts Academy, 2008
- Group Exhibition - Kansas City Art Institute, 2007
- Group Exhibition - Overland Park, KS, 2005
- Images Art Gallery Annual Juried Exhibition - Kansas City, MO, 2005
- Art at the Center Juried Exhibition - Overland Park, KS, 2005
- "Autograph" (solo exhibition) - University of Central Missouri , 2004
- Ward's Cove - Kenai Fine Arts Center, 2003
- AIS Mural Installation - Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, 2003
- "Places" a two person exhibition - University of Alaska Kenai, 2002
- Columbia Art Guild Plein Air Invitational - Columbia, MO, 2002
- Spirit of Alaska: The Inner Landscape - University of Alaska, 2002
- Bodyscapes (solo exhibition) - Mykel's, Soldotna, Alaska, 2002
- Mural Installation - Soldotna, Alaska Gourmet Gardens, 2002
- Mural Installation - Cook Inlet, Soldotna, Alaska, 2002
- Oil Paintings of Morning (solo exhibition) - Kenai Peninsula Fine Arts Center, 2002
- Kansas City Museum, "Cultures Without Borders" - Kansas City Museum, 2001
- Artists Along the KATY Trail - Traveling Exhibition, 2000
- National Exhibition - St Louis, MO, 2000
Education
- University of Missouri Columbia, MEd - Columbia, MO,2005
- University of Central Missouri, BSE - Warrensburg, MO,2004
- University of Missouri Columbia, PhD (incomplete) - Columbia, MO
Press Accolades
- Best of Show, Paint Marceline Plein Air - 2025
- 2nd and 3rd Place, Brush Creek Art Walk - 2025
- Best of Show and 1st place Nocturne, Historic West Bottoms Plein Air - 2025
- Carole Ann Ladd Legasy Award, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art - 2025
- Missouri Alliance for Arts Creativity and Innovation Award - 2025
- Top 3 placement, Kansas City Parks Plein Air - 2019
- Top 3 placement, Kansas City Parks Plein Air - 2018
- Urban Sketchers International Symposium Correspondent Illustrator/reportage artist - 2019
- Brush Creek Plein Air Purchase Award - 2018
- 1st place, Liberty Arts Squared - 2013
- Publication: Evoking a Sense of Place -
- Publication: The Memory of Trees and Other Things -
- Publication: Excuse Me While I Kiss The Sky -
- Publication: Attracted to the Opposite -
- Publication: Physically Possible -
- Publication: Clutter is the Key -
- Publication: Listening Through a Sketchbook -
- Publication: Hello, Sketcher! -
- Publication: The Comic Side of Things -
- Publication: Draw Until You Don’t Care About it Anymore -
- Publication: Takin’ it to the Streets -
- Publication: Embracing the Limitations -
- Journal: The Becoming Art Teacher: A Reconciliation of Teacher Identity and the Dance of Teaching Art -
- Publication: Shooting in a Time Warp. -
- Book: I'll Dance At Your Wedding -
- Book Cover: Don't Say A Word -
- Publication: Hiking and Sketching Portugal -
- Publication: Sketching With Abandon -
- Publication: Almost Heaven -
- Journal: Autobiographical Artworks: Digitally Projected Identities -
- Journal: Moveable Murals -
- Books: Featured in several Urban Sketchers books -
- Books: Featured in numerous design and illustration awards annuals -