Gary Anawalt  Art and Folk Art

I am essentially a self-taught artist, having taken only a hand full of art classes beginning when I was young growing up in Southern California. As an adult, and working in our family’s lumber business full time, an artist’s paint brush was never far from my reach. Working in the lumber business also had given me the love of working with wood. Today I also create furniture, sculptures, and garden art.

In 1997 I moved with my wife and our 3 young children to Nevada City in Northern California. This move, along with many other influences, such as photographs, stories, the seasons, and travels help shape my choice of subjects. After I choose a subject I then research that subject & history. For instance, if the subject is a fish, I want to know what environment it thrives in, the colors it wears in a certain season, the texture of its skin. Bringing all these elements together on canvas is a challenge yet I find this process the most rewarding when I accomplish it.

Over the years I have used many different mediums: pen & ink, oils, watercolors, and now currently, acrylic. Most of my paintings reflect my love of the natural world and my desire to share it with others. If asked the question, “Why do you paint?” my answer would be that I love the feeling I get when I can create a story with colors and subjects from what I see around me, most times adding something from my imagination in the mix.  I love the freedom the paint gives me to create a world I find beauty in.