Continuing with our artist profiles of artists both living and working in the Hamptons, our next artist is Casey Chalem Anderson, who lives in Sag Harbor.

Anderson is a native of New York City (Greenwich Village) who has been creating oil paintings of the Hamptons landscape since she moved to Sag Harbor in 1990 with her son, Brian, who is now a junior in college. From her earliest childhood, Anderson has been immersed in the cultural and artistic world of New York City. In the mid-1950s her parents moved the family to Greenwich Village to be a part of the bohemian life. As a child she was taken to poetry readings, gallery openings, dance recitals, avant-garde theater presentations and museums.

Artist Casey Chalem Anderson in her Sag Harbor studio. Photo by Eileen Casey

It was at the High School of Art and Design in New York that Anderson began to paint seriously. During this time she also studied figure drawing at the Art Students League. She received a B.A. in Art (Painting) from the University of California at Berkeley in 1984, where she studied with some of the Bay Area's most prominent artists, including Joan Brown and Elmer Bischoff.

Anderson has worked with both the Peconic Land Trust and the Nature Conservancy, two environmental groups working to protect open land that she feels is so essential to her paintings. She is also a founding member of Plein Air Peconic, which is a group of 12 artists dedicated to depicting the conserved sites of the Peconic Land Trust. Anderson is involved in planning the group's exhibitions and painting at specific sites.

Like many East End artists, Anderson has participated in local charitable events such as the Cigar Box Art Auction for the East End Hospice, the Annual Studio Benefit Tour of the Artist Alliance of East Hampton and the Art of Wine Bottle Auction which raises funds for the Sag Harbor Whaling Museum. Additionally, her artwork was chosen as the annual poster for the Ladies Village Improvement Society (LVIS) of East Hampton for 2008.

"Birch Grove Dam Pond Preserve" (oil on canvas) 2008, 24 x 18.

Anderson states that she "Makes paintings to bring a sense of tranquility and calm to the people who view them. Each day I seek out serene open vistas full of vibrant color. I paint the glorious coastal setting of the Hamptons where the land intersects with an expanse of water. It is the color that ignites my senses, particularly the ever changing colors of the sea and sky. My approach is completely intuitive as I let my brush define the shapes to create a landscape that is soothing yet visually stimulating."

She further elaborates "If a scene is appealing, that will be the starting point for an oil painting. I use drawings and photos to remind me of key proportions, but in the studio it is the possibilities of the paint that fascinates me. My personal palette of colors is constantly evolving yet very specific. I use only colors that give me a positive emotional charge, colors that I love. I strive to create a peaceful and expansive sensation for the viewer."

Anderson has received the Special Opportunity Stipend from the New York State Foundation for the Arts in both 2004 and 2000, and currently teaches private Student Art Workshops in her Sag Harbor studio. She has exhibited in numerous solo and group shows, including East End galleries and venues such as the Terry Wallace Gallery, Ashawagh Hall, and Peconic Land Trust sponsored exhibitions, as well as New York City's Atlantic Gallery, and the Museum at Stonybrook.

When did you start making art and what medium(s) do you consider to be your roots in art?

Casey Chalem Anderson: I started to make art as a child as far back as I can remember. My family had the kind of apartment that had crayons, pencils and glue everywhere. At the time my Dad was making short films and editing them at home. For years we had pieces of film dangling from every wall.

"Immense Cloud" (Oil on Panel) 2006, 24 x 24.

When I was about nine, an artist friend of my parents, Marty Greenbaum, had the whole family experimenting with making collages, painting, drawings and melting wax in unlined marbleized composition books. We even got to show them in a gallery in the East Village.

Drawing is really the root for me. My Mom knows how to draw and did it constantly. I learned so much from just watching her hand move. I started to carry a sketchbook with me at all times by high school at the suggestion of an incredible teacher at Art and Design, Irwin Greenberg. In high school, I took additional classes at the Art's Students League and learned to draw from a live nude model. At the time I thought it was essential that an artist learn to draw with confidence. For me, that is still true - but by college I understood that art is wide and it can encompass an eclectic mix of ideas.

What is it about the Hamptons that brought you here and enticed you to stay, work, and pursue your art as opposed to some place else?

CCA: It was a combination of things. I was living in California at the time when my father bought a summer house with no heat in North Sea, Southampton. Over the next few years I visited and found it to be one of the most gorgeous places on earth. When I had my son a few years later I missed being with my family who were all in New York City. In the late 1980s, many friends started to live out here all year-round so I decided to be here too. I knew the Hamptons had a huge artist community so I thought it would be a good fit. It has worked out very well, I love it here!

"Advancing Surf" (Oil on Canvas) 2007, 30 x 48.

How do you support yourself as an artist?

CCA: I try to live simply. Sales of my paintings have been good and have grown each year. Now, I also have fine art prints of my paintings that more people can afford, and I teach oil painting workshops for beginning adults in my studio for people who always wanted to try oil painting but didn't know how to get started.

Why live and work in the Hamptons as opposed to elsewhere?

CCA: From the first time I visited the Hamptons I felt an immediate and powerful affinity with the flat horizontal seaside landscape. Even as a child in New York City I was inexplicably drawn to water and here in the Hamptons it is everywhere. As an adult painter I think about the mystery of that often. Why are so many of us soothed and invigorated by viewing the sea?

Living in Sag Harbor across from the bay I'm extremely conscious of the infinite color changes of the water and sky. Living so close to nature here gives me unlimited ideas for paintings. Before I lived here I did figurative paintings almost exclusively. The sheer beauty of the Hamptons is endless - each week I discover incredible places out here that I've never seen before.

"North Sea Salt Marsh" (Oil on Canvas) 2008, 24 x 36.

The other part that makes living in the Hamptons desirable for me is that New York City is so close. I crave the stimulation and diversification of the city but my paintings are inspired by the natural world. The sharp differences help me to focus on that calm quality that I desire, it is what I think about in making a painting.

What local environmental or historical aspects of the Hamptons do you relate to that may be reflected in your medium?

CCA: After graduating from the University of California at Berkeley I stayed in the Bay Area for a number of years. I guess I've just found my way and feel comfortable here. I do like the New England sensibility of the people that comes with living in a place of changing seasons. Plus, many people care about art here and some can afford to buy it! Culturally, the mix of artists, poets, writers and business people make it lively. I'm very sensitive to the need for preserving this fragile pristine environment that is so essential to my work and my well-being. I support both the Peconic Land Trust and the Nature Conservancy, two groups that actively preserve open land here. We are very lucky that so much land has been protected from development here on the East End.

LVIS Poster 2008, (Paper), 19 x 26.

What artists do you feel have influenced you and your work?

CCA: The artists who have influenced my work as a painter are numerous - starting with my first viewing of Monet's monumental "Water Lilies" at the Museum of Modern Art as a kid, on to a long-time favorite non-objective painter, Richard Diebenkorn. I fall in love with painters who use color in new ways: Matisse, Rothko, Wolf Kahn, Bonnard and Milton Avery - I've learned from all of them.

What advice would you give an emerging artist?

CCA: My advice would be to clear a place for yourself both physically and mentally and get involved with your work. When you gain clarity about the work you are doing and fully stand in it opportunities come your way. The other side of doing artwork, where you are necessarily spending time alone, is that people have to know what you are doing. You have to be social; something I vacillate on and try to find balance with. I withdraw to make my paintings and then start going places and being socially active.

"Long Beach Sag Harbor Cloud and Lace" (Oil on Canvas) 2008, 30 x 40.

What gives you an edge (if any)?

CCA: If I have an edge, it is probably an ability to move between being creative and the mechanics involved in the business aspects of art. I'm motivated by the idea of connecting to others. If I can help people who love the seashore as much as I do access that feeling of exhilaration and calm through my paintings, I'm happy.

What are you working on now, and are you involved in any upcoming shows or exhibitions?

CCA: My next show is with the "Plein Air Peconic" group of artists at the Grenning Gallery at 90 Main Street in Sag Harbor from Oct. 8 through Oct. 18. There is an opening reception on Saturday, Oct. 11, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

To view more of Anderson's work visit www.CaseyArt.com or to inquire about classes call 631-725-0645.