The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Lossiemouth fighter jet squadrons provide inspiration for artist
Painting some of the world’s most sophisticated aircraft soaring over picturesque Moray landscapes has become a contrasting creative niche for a north-east artist.
Anna Anderson turned to art five years ago after giving up her career as a dental practice manager to begin a family.
But aviation and painting has long been a passion of the mother-of-two.
Growing up in Hertfordshire, her father worked for British Aerospace and as a child she was taken to air shows across the country.
Today the 39-year-old fulfils her passions for art and aviation by depicting Typhoon jets from RAF Lossiemouth.
Paintings from Mrs Anderson show the sophisticated fighters booming over Moray Firth beaches, silhouetted at sea against the Northern Lights and passing the Covesea lighthouse while coming into land.
The artist, who lives in Elgin, explained the creations allowed her to fulfil two of her passions at the same time.
She said: “I don’t know what came first. I have always enjoyed air shows since going with my dad while I was growing up.
“I’ve always liked painting landscapes too so this has really joined the two of them together.
“I like painting the detail of the aircraft, just getting really into the technical side of it.
“And I like the juxtaposition with the landscape, which is more natural.
“The two of them work together really nicely to create something that shows the natural versus the technical.”
Anna moved to Elgin with her husband, who is based at RAF Lossiemouth, last year.
Previously, helicopters including Chinooks and Apaches performing drills at Salisbury Plains formed her principal inspiration.
One of her most colourful images featured a cow being carried to safety in the cradle of a bright yellow Sea King.
She said: “It’s a memory I have from when I was a child – it actually happened! It must have been about 30 years ago when we stayed in Devon.
“A lot of people have said to me after seeing it that they remember it too. I actually think it’s quite a common occurrence, more often than you would think.”
After embracing her joint passion for aviation and art as a hobby in recent years, Anna is now preparing to take her creations to a larger audience.
The artist has launched a crowdfunding project to create 150 prints of her latest work, Squawking Over Hopeman, which features disgruntled gulls angered at the noisy approach of Typhoon jets.
She said: “I feel this painting encapsulates a fleeting moment in time, where the waves crash, the seagulls shout and fast jets roar.
“I have aptly named the piece using the word ‘squawking’ as this is the sound the seagulls make and also a way the aircraft communicates with air traffic control.”
Supporters to Anna Anderson’s crowdfunding campaign can secure a print of her Squawking Over Hopeman painting.
Details can be found at her Anna Anderson Art page on Facebook.