ARTIST PROFILE

“As a 21st Century woman, my artistic goal is to tell a relevant story through a graphite drawing or a painting; anticipating that the viewer may be moved emotionally - and spiritually, through the Scripture title,” says artist Okie Looper Anderson.

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Okie Anderson had a long career as a public school teacher and a district-wide crisis counselor. As a licensed Professional Counselor with two state licenses in Alcohol and Drug Abuse, she worked with children and their parents in the court system and used art therapy with families in Hospice and Shriners Children’s Hospital in Galveston. After retirement, Anderson made the decision to pursue her interest in art full-time, benefiting from the instruction of well-known artist, Mark Greenwalt.

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Being in the company of younger and older aspiring artists has resulted in fine-tuning her artistic skills and has kept her motivated to continue to produce meaningful works in acrylics, alcohol ink, graphite, and watercolor. Okie’s choice to focus on her art has paid off, resulting in several Best of Show Awards, as well as 18 of her original COVID drawings being procured by the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., along with a book of her renderings and accompanying scripts.

Ben Sanchez, a fellow artist and friend, edited and designed “A Diary of a Pandemic”, “A Pursuit of Equality”, "Angels and Adages", and "A Good, Long Run".