Though she spends the bulk of her time writing and shooting pictures for The El Dorado Times, photography is also a hobby for Editor Julie Anderson. And that pastime has garnered her recognition from Mead Street Gallery in Wichita, where she’s been named the most recent Featured Artist.
Her exhibit is comprised of about 18 to 20 photographs, primarily black and white photos, which Anderson has taken over the last year or so.
“There’s a wide variety of photos – wildlife, landscapes, flowers,” Anderson said. “Usually I’ll go out with my camera, not looking for anything in particular, and just see what I run across.”
In capturing her subjects, Anderson said the process is half instinct, half work.
“Sometimes you just see [the subject] and you go ‘Wow! What a great photo!’” she said. “Other times, you see something and you see there’s some potential there, and you walk around and take photos for a while at different angles.”
The Mead Gallery — located in Old Town — dedicates a wall in its building to a Featured Artist each month. Anderson had previously had a pair of works featured before as part of the gallery’s Christmas show and reconnected with the owner through her job in Derby last year.
“They asked if I wanted to do a photography exhibit,” Anderson said. “It was very exciting. This is the first time I’ve seen my photos hanging in a gallery. I’ve done some art shows, but no galleries.”
Of her work in this show, she thinks some of the Western-themed pictures will appeal to local art lovers.
“Everywhere you look makes for a great picture when someone’s dressed up as cowboys, and it really lends itself to black and white photos,” Anderson said.
Though she’s excited to have her art showcased at the Mead, her prized photograph – a piece shot in New Orleans called “Come Here Often?” — won’t be featured in the Wichita show.
It’s been accepted into a show at the Pen and Brush Gallery in New York and she had to send it off last week. She found out about that show via an art magazine and decided to enter as a lark.
To kick off the exhibit, Mead Gallery is hosting a Meet the Artist reception from 6:30 to 10 p.m. Friday, coinciding with Wichita’s Final Friday Art Crawl.
“It’ll be fun to share my ideas behind some of the photos and hear the feedback,” Anderson said.
The Mead Gallery, located at 121 N. Mead Street, Suite 107, will feature Anderson’s work until May 26. The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. There is no charge to see the show.
