Gobbler: Oldfields Series

A longtime resident of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, Walter Anderson immersed himself in nature, often spending parts of each year on a barrier island. Although he suffered from mental illness, at times he worked in a family-owned pottery. The “Oldfields” referred to in the title of this watercolor was an antebellum mansion where he lived in the 1940s.

Anderson’s preferred medium was watercolor—easy to transport, but also conducive to working quickly and directly from nature. For Gobbler he sketched the outlines of his subject, then applied thin washes of pigment, and finally added swirling patterns to suggest movement.