2026 Art and Artist

Artwork:  Arizona Woodpecker

Artist: Walt Anderson

While nature is Walt’s ultimate teacher, he has multiple degrees in wildlife biology and resource ecology, and was a Professor of Environmental Studies at Prescott College in Arizona for nearly three decades. Walk is a passionate naturalist, using his knowledge and experience to interpret nature through words, photographs, paintings, and action.  He has authored two detailed books on the Sutter Buttes of California and is considered a pioneer and expert on ecotourism, having led dozens of trips around the world.  His field experience informs his artwork, and his artwork complements his conservation efforts.

Walt’s most recent and intense conservation efforts have focused on the Granite Dells of Prescott, Arizona.  As a co-founder of the Granite Dells Preservation Foundation and Save the Dells, his photos and words have been used in many forms in these conservation efforts, and he has also coordinated a project in which the international Artists and Biologists Unite for Nature (ABUN) group have done hundreds of artworks toward this cause.

His paintings have been represented in many collections, gallery shows, book illustrations, and other graphics work. Several large recent commissions have been for the Highlands Center for Natural History.  Walt has had two three-month one-man shows of original paintings at the Natural History Institute Gallery in Prescott, Arizona. Walt was one of four featured artists in the grand opening of the Cicada Art Gallery at Prescott College in May 2024, and was juried into the Artists for Conservation Festival in Vancouver, BC from 2019 through 2024, receiving the top AFC honor, the Simon Combes Conservation Artist Award.

"My goal as an artist is to interpret an organism with love, respect, and fidelity to essence. As a naturalist and wildlife biologist, I want my work to inspire and motivate people to fully appreciate the natural world and work to protect it. Marvel at the beauty of an animal well portrayed, and you can for a moment escape the confusion of modern society and connect with something much bigger and grander."