Local children’s author signs his books Saturday

Montana author, book illustrator and painter Vernon Anderson will be at Phillips Studio & Gallery signing his children’s books for “Saturday Afternoon at the Mall” Dec. 4 from 1 to 3 pm.

Anderson will be uniting the illustrations from his books and oil paintings in this exhibit, producing a visually compelling narrative between the literary and visual arts. The illustrations, paintings and books will be available to purchase.

Hiking and exploring the hills and mountains of Montana was an important part of Anderson’s youth. His respect and love of nature grew from those early years roaming the countryside around Lewistown. Anderson recalls reading a series of books with titles such as “The Biography of a Bear” and “The Biography of a Deer” when he was a boy. When he was unable to find these books in recent years, he decided to write and illustrate his own stories with a fresh perspective from first-hand experiences and study. His first story was “A Year in the Life of a Western Robin.” He has since written four other books in the series and will have all of them available to sign.

After high school, a tour in the Navy and photographic school, which allowed him to earn a college degree in business while working as a photographer, Anderson and his wife Sue moved to Bainbridge Island, Washington, where they raised three boys. The Andersons then retired to Columbia Falls. Retirement has allowed him to explore his art in a new light. The inspiration for his paintings come from the landscape in the great outdoors found in Montana with a passion for Glacier National Park.

Anderson’s artwork is on permanent display at ImagineIF Library in Kalispell. Original paintings and book cover illustrations will be on exhibit through Dec. 23. Phillips Studio & Gallery is located between JCPenney and the Red Lion Hotel in the Kalispell Center Mall and is open Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visit www.phillipsfineartgallery.com to see more work by area artists.