Encinitas: Our History and People
Encinitas: Our History and People By the Encinitas Historical Society Authors Carolyn Roy Cope, Jim Filanc and Garth Murphy Cover painting by artist Kevin Anderson Published by HPN Books and Ledge Media ©2021 Visit www.ledgemedia.net/encinitas to order printed copies And visit www.HPNBooks.com for info on how to publish your own book as a fundraiser for your community
Encinitas: Our History and People
By the Encinitas Historical Society
Authors Carolyn Roy Cope, Jim Filanc and Garth Murphy
Cover painting by artist Kevin Anderson
Published by HPN Books and Ledge Media ©2021
Visit www.ledgemedia.net/encinitas to order printed copies
And visit www.HPNBooks.com for info on how to publish your own book as a fundraiser for your community
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G<br />
IMAGES ARE COURTESY OF KYLE<br />
THOMAS PHOTOGRAPHY.<br />
ARTIST<br />
KEVIN<br />
ANDERSON<br />
The character <strong>and</strong> quality of our most<br />
awesome City of <strong>Encinitas</strong> is in large part defined<br />
<strong>and</strong> molded by the talented <strong>and</strong> creative people<br />
that have resided here over the generations. One<br />
such person of note is <strong>Encinitas</strong>’s very own, artist<br />
Kevin Anderson.<br />
Kevin’s art is expressed as public art in the form<br />
of outdoor <strong>and</strong> indoor murals, which can be found<br />
all over <strong>Encinitas</strong>, San Diego <strong>and</strong> beyond, <strong>and</strong><br />
Kevin is one of <strong>Encinitas</strong>’s most prolific painters,<br />
who can be frequently spotted outdoors along the<br />
coast between Del Mar <strong>and</strong> <strong>Encinitas</strong> painting the<br />
coastal scenes in his ‘plein air’ style.<br />
Kevin is not a transplant that arrived here<br />
later in life, that happens to be a great artist, but<br />
is an artist who’s very inner artist being was a<br />
creation born of his own experience of having<br />
been raised in the special collective community<br />
us old-timers fondly called ‘San Dieguito.’<br />
Kevin will tell you that, “As a kid, I grew up<br />
in Solana Beach, <strong>and</strong> then later in Cardiff. It was<br />
a great life. Went to the beach a lot in the<br />
summer. We lived the ‘Beach Blanket Bingo’ life<br />
in Solana Beach. Sunburned all day <strong>and</strong> partied<br />
all night for years <strong>and</strong> years, until I was older<br />
<strong>and</strong> out of high school.”<br />
“My high school experience in the early<br />
seventies, while I wasn’t into academics, it was<br />
rich in culture <strong>and</strong> art. The teachers there were<br />
the ones that pretty much paved the way for me<br />
to become an artist.”<br />
“There were a couple of teachers, in particular,<br />
Marianne Hanafin <strong>and</strong> Marilyn Delise, that were<br />
instrumental in opening my eyes to wanting to<br />
paint <strong>and</strong> draw, <strong>and</strong> kind of convinced me that<br />
that’s what I wanted to do with my life.”<br />
“Hanafan would take a student, put them in<br />
front of her, <strong>and</strong> sketch them <strong>and</strong> made it look<br />
just like them. When I saw her do that, I go, “I<br />
want to know how to do that!”<br />
“And then Mrs. Delise took a glass, it was<br />
actually a glass ashtray, put it on a table, with<br />
the light shining through the transparency, <strong>and</strong><br />
did a color chalk drawing of it, that just blew<br />
my mind. I go, “I need to know how to do that!”<br />
“San Dieguito High School was just a great<br />
place to go. They had an open campus, so if I<br />
wanted to get away for a day, I could go surfing. It<br />
wasn’t so structured that it took the life out of a<br />
person. Actually, it was open enough to let you<br />
flourish, <strong>and</strong> do what you wanted to do. Mainly, it<br />
was the art that turned me on. From there I went<br />
to Palomar College, <strong>and</strong> then on to Long Beach<br />
State University, because of those teachers.”<br />
“But I never left <strong>Encinitas</strong>. I always lived in<br />
Cardiff, while I was going to college. I would<br />
commute. On Mondays, I would go to Long<br />
Beach, stay up there, oftentimes sleeping in my<br />
truck, <strong>and</strong> stay there all week <strong>and</strong> come back on<br />
Fridays to Cardiff.”<br />
“Living around here, it’s kind of like living a<br />
pretty good dream. I keep mind focused on<br />
what’s still here, the underlying beauty,<br />
regardless of the growth <strong>and</strong> the development. It<br />
has a certain soul <strong>and</strong> feeling. As far as painting<br />
the area, it’s unlimited what you can paint.”<br />
“I have spent a whole year painting from<br />
Swamis to Seaside, painting around sixty<br />
pictures <strong>and</strong> I never left those confines or ran<br />
out of new views or ideas to paint.<br />
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