Liberty, MO
About Mark Anderson:
Mark Alan Anderson is an award-winning plein air painter and educator whose work is rooted in direct observation of the landscape and built environment. Working primarily in gouache, he paints on location throughout the Midwest, capturing the changing light, atmosphere, and quiet beauty of places that are often overlooked. His subjects range from urban streets and industrial districts to rural roadsides, fields, and neighborhoods, where nature and human-made structures intersect. Influenced by a background in graphic design, Anderson uses strong composition, simplified shapes, and expressive brushwork to distill each scene to its essential elements. Born in Kansas City and raised in rural Missouri, he draws continual inspiration from the places he has known throughout his life. Before becoming a full-time painter, he enjoyed an award-winning career in graphic design and illustration, creating visual identities for clients including Microsoft, Hallmark, Gulfstream Aerospace, and Sprint. He later spent more than two decades teaching art before returning to painting full time. His work has received numerous awards in plein air exhibitions and is held in private and corporate collections.
Selected exhibitions
- Summit Plein Air Festival - Lee Summit, MO, 2026
- STEMS Plein Air - Overland Park, KS, 2026
- Historic West Bottoms Plein Air - Kansas City, MO, 2026
- STEMS Garden Soireé - Overland Park, KS, 2026
- 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 -
- 1st place purchase award, Rice Gallery of Fine Art Magic Hour Plein Air Plein Air - 2026
- Finalist, Rock Island Bridge Plein Air - 2026
- Best of Show, Historic West Bottoms 4th Annual Plein Air - 2026
- Finalist, STEMS Plein Air - 2026
- Finalist, Summit Plein Air Festival - 2026