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Daven Andersons The Rivers: A Celebration of Life and Work on our Inland Waterways opens May 6 in the Rosemary Berkel and Harry L. Crisp II Museum at Southeast Missouri State Universitys River Campus.

The public is invited to attend an artist talk at 6 p.m. May 5 and an opening reception from 4-8 p.m. May 6. The exhibit will remain on display through June 19. Admission is free.

Anderson will teach a two-day watercolor workshop from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. May 6 and 7. Seating is limited. Pre-registration and a refundable deposit is required.
The Rivers exhibition portrays the people who live on or near the Midwests rivers and bays and the industry that depends on navigable waters. Approximately 50 paintings, drawings and sketches depicted of portraits, shipping and barge scenes, urban and industrial landscapes and wildlife inhabitants using the natural and man-made waterways in the Midwest.

Anderson captures a view multiple times on location to explore the changing light. His pieces show a wide range of and contrast and skilled use of color and fine detail in the right places. He alternates his subject matter between urban settings and the culture of the waterways.

Anderson, who is a self-described representational painter, captures a view multiple times on location to explore the changing light. His pieces show a wide range of contrast and skilled use of color and fine detail in the right places. He alternates his subject matter between urban settings and the culture of the waterways.

The creative adventure begins for me by venturing out at 5:30 .am. onto the streets of St. Louis, Savannah or Charleston to catch the sunrise; going out on Galveston Bay with the U.S. Coast

Guard or a dredging company, with the workers sweating and swearing; clamming on

Chesapeake Bay, enveloped in the briny scent; walking the crowded streets of Arles, Madrid,

Barcelona, or San Franciscoalways alert, attentive to the emotions that these scenesor, more

often, the people in themevoke in me, allowing me to be fully present with them at that

moment, Anderson said. Every painting of mine begins with just such an emotional catalyst. Capturing this emotion in the subsequent painting is my great creative challenge and my joy when I succeed.

Anderson is essentially self-taught. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy where he also completed post-graduate studies in nuclear physics and engineering. He earned an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Executive Program. Because of his professional responsibilities, he was not able to pursue a career in art until 2010. In 2006, he and his wife moved to St. Louis, and in 2007, he began painting again and getting involved in the citys art community.

He currently is executive director of the Missouri Watercolor Society and managing director of the American Society of Marine Artists. He serves on the board of directors of various arts organizations and teaches several art workshops. Additionally, he teaches day and evening watercolor classes in his Lafayette Square studio and is a United States Coast Guard artist.

Anderson has works in the permanent collections of the Mercantile Library, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Sheldon Concert Hall and Galleries, the U.S. Navy, the Missouri Athletic Club, the Kellerman Foundation and the St. Louis Racquet Club.

Through my unpaid service as the head of two significant art societies, The American Society of

Marine Artists and the Missouri Watercolor Society, and by serving on the board of directors of a number of art-related organizations, I am able to contribute to the wider artistic community in a meaningful way, Anderson said. It is my way of giving back and thanking the community that has encouraged my development as a fine artist.

The Crisp Museum is located in the Cultural Arts Center at Southeast Missouri State Universitys River Campus, located at 518 S. Fountain St. in Cape Girardeau, Mo. For more information, call (573) 651-2260 or email museum@semo.edu.

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