As a kid, whenever you saw Tiffany Anderson, her notebook was always with her so she could draw, whether she was riding along on a drive, or watching a movie with her family at home. Growing up in Columbia, Md., she was also surrounded by nature, walking around barefoot and taking pictures of the flowers, trees, and other plants.
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“I didn’t know I was going to ever turn those pictures into art, but I always really appreciated it because it was just what was around me, and it makes me feel safe and grounded,” she says. “That’s my main focus, at least right now, because it’s something that recenters me. I feel like it could recenter anyone. Just being in nature is organic and grounding, and I want people to look at the art I create and feel that sense of peace and groundedness that I feel when I’m in nature.”
It’s that same sense of peace and grounding that led her to “The Mountaintop,” her hyperrealistic colored picture drawing currently on display in The Athenaeum Music & Arts Library’s 34th Annual Juried Exhibition, featuring the work of 42 artists from the San Diego-Tijuana region through Oct. 9. More than 350 artists submitted more than 1,000 works of art for consideration, and Anderson’s piece made the cut and also won third place. Her 24-by-30-inch drawing “looks like an oil painting because of the level of detail,” and shows her sitting on a bench, leading into a view of a sunset with a purple and blue sky. There are lots of trees, some red bushes, and a river of colorful stripes below her feet, all inspired by a photograph of a hike she took with her sister in 2024, where a sudden rain shower almost convinced them to turn back.
A hyperrealistic artist working in colored pencil, Anderson also works full time as a receptionist, giving her lots of time to work on her art. She took some time to talk about her journey from doing commissioned portraits, to navigating an eviction when the commissions stopped, to the boost of confidence that came with this most recent exhibition at The Athenaeum. (This interview has been edited for length and clarity. )
Are you a full-time artist?
I had a period of time where I was a full-time artist, and that was a whole journey. It didn’t work out for a period of time because I stopped getting the portrait orders that were supporting me; I ended up getting evicted from the place I was renting because that was the only work I was doing at that time. I live in California by myself, and it led me to having to stay in a hostel for a little bit, to volunteer there and being able to live there for free, so that was a huge redirection. From there, I ended up finding a full-time job that was just two blocks away from the hostel. It’s a front desk job, and it’s overnight. I get to be there and do my art.
When did you start work on “The Mountaintop,” and what initially inspired this drawing?
I think I started that one in 2024. The inspiration for it was from a picture my older sister took of me while I was in New York for my artist residency. We were going up the mountain and it started raining on the way up, and she got worried and was needing to turn around. At the time she was visiting me, I knew she was kind of going through something and I wanted to lift her spirits, and I said, “I feel like it’s important that we keep going.” In that moment, I asked myself what she would have said to me if things were the other way around, so I used her as inspiration in that moment and said we had to keep going. It only rained for maybe five minutes, and it was pretty light, but it did look like it was going to storm. We reached the top and the view was amazing. I couldn’t imagine us not having that view and experience because I really love sunsets, I love trees, and it was stunning. So, in the picture, I’m just taking all of that in and it felt unreal because it was a nice moment of knowing that no matter what’s on the other side of whatever is scaring you, or stopping you, from reaching your goals, you have to keep going. I also love the moment because you can see me really taking it in. I also feel like, when you look at it, it reminds people to appreciate and take in the world around them.
You stopped working on it for about two years; was there anything different about the way you were seeing it and thinking about it when you returned to it, compared to when you had first started?
Yes, I added a little bit of abstract elements into it because, even though my work is hyperrealistic, I want to take away from the look of it being perfect, of it looking like a perfect photo. I want to emphasize that this is handmade art, and nothing in life is perfect anyway. I kind of wanted to break away from the norm of hyperrealistic art uniformly looking like a photo, and also allowing myself to explore my creative side more. It’s pretty scary when it comes to stuff that’s very detailed and takes a lot of time because it’s a little riskier to get into.
What prompted you to enter it in the Athenaeum’s juried exhibition?
I felt like it was a monumental piece for me, and it was a larger scale than what I normally do. I felt like people viewing it might be able to feel how I felt in the moment that I was sitting on that bench, just taking in the view of how beautiful the world around us is. I wanted people to see that and feel that, too.
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What was your initial reaction to your work being accepted in the exhibition and being awarded third place?
It was very affirming that I need to continue in this direction, and I was very surprised and grateful because this was my first time even submitting to an exhibit here. It’s been a while since I’ve been around a community of artists, and it’s really refreshing and inspiring. It’s sent me to taking my art career more seriously again, than I have been. I’ve been through a lot throughout the journey, and that felt like a kickoff moment for me. Like, ‘Yeah, you should have been entering shows and contests, and this is what you’ve got to keep doing.’ I have a whole schedule of different art shows and contests that I’m going to submit to throughout the year now, so it’s definitely been something that feels like a kickoff point for me.
Where did you grow up and how would you describe the relationship to art that you had in your home, with your family?
I grew up in Columbia, Md., and it’s a very multicultural space. I was exposed to a lot of different cultures, and I’ve just always loved art. I was always creative and my family was always supportive of that.
In school, I was recognized for different contests, so I was also aware that I was pretty skilled with it, and that also helps me to keep creating. And, I grew up in a very entrepreneurial family, so I think that also made it easy for them to support my art and wherever I was going to take it. In middle school, I was drawing these binder covers where I would take a person’s name and draw it in some type of style, and around it I would draw different little things that they liked or that reminded me of them or their personality. I would sell them for $5, and I sold a ton of them in sixth or seventh grade; a few people still have them. Also, in high school, I was in an art class and we were designing T-shirts, and I ended up drawing a portrait of one of the chemistry teachers everyone knew. He was a very interesting character, and (in the drawing) I gave him a little chain and put his name on it, and I sold those T-shirts in school and a lot of people bought them, too. It’s just always been part of me to create art and share it with other people, and make custom things that kind of represent a person or a moment.
What led to your interest in visual art?
For my particular style, it was actually in high school where I learned the grid method. It basically showed me how I can replicate a photo realistically. That’s when I found out that I had that skill because I’d always been creating different things just for fun, but I just created anything, even using construction paper. (The grid method) is when I pinpointed that I’m really good with hyperrealism, and then I just kind of took off from there.
How would you describe your point of view as an artist?
I like to appreciate the little details. Even in life, I feel like we’re sometimes just going through the motions. I know that, as I’m creating, it helps me slow down and puts me in a calmer state, and I want my art to remind people of these beautiful things that are all around us, of these beautiful moments. I’m kind of starting my journey with creating my own original work and finding my voice this past year, from previously doing mostly custom work, but now I want my artwork to remind us of how important the world around us is, how important Earth is and the people in it, too. Of all of the nice moments in between that are candid and remind us why we’re living and not just trying to survive.
How did you get started doing commissioned artwork, and where did it take you?
I think it was 2021. I’ve always made custom work, pretty much since high school. After I graduated high school, when I figured out that I could draw realistic portraits and sell them, so I’ve done that since 2016. It was 2021 when I was kind of branching off into doing it more full time. I was originally going to be working with another artist who was more established, and drawing portraits for her. I had my flight to go work with her in New Orleans, and she canceled two weeks before. I already had my flight, I already had an Airbnb booked, so I was like, ‘I’m doing this.’ I didn’t know what was going to happen afterward, I didn’t have any other income that I was planning on, or that I would have. I ended up transferring my flight and my Airbnb to Myrtle Beach (South Carolina). I got there and I didn’t have a job or a plan, but I knew I could sell my art. I had already been posting my artwork online and I was becoming kind of recognized, and that’s where I was getting my commissions. It was pretty scary because I was out there by myself. I was looking for a job and trying to get a portrait sale, and I did end up getting a job, but when I got the portrait sale, it paid more than what I would make at the job, so I decided not to do the job and just continue to focus on my art. Every month was kind of scary, but every month also worked out. I was there for six months, and then it got more expensive, so I ended up moving to New Mexico for a few months. I was also doing my art full time there because I found a spot that was really cheap that I could afford. After that, I found an artist residency in New York, so I was able to also create there. All this time, I’m traveling around, bouncing around, figuring it out as I go. It was pretty scary, but everything continued to work out. Eventually, at the end of that year, I got a portrait commission in L.A. to create a series of very large-scale paintings for another artist, and it was going to be enough to pay my rent for three to six months. I worked on those and stayed out there for a bit, and also continued to promote my own work. I was in L.A. for a year, and then I had my Boston opportunity, and after that my commissions started slowing down. That brought me to San Diego and finding a full-time job, but I had a good few years of just doing my art full time. It was scary, but I felt like I was truly living life, and that was the only thing that really mattered to me.
What inspires you in your artwork?
It’s always the world around me and the things that I see, the little moments in life that we overlook. I think that’s always my biggest thing that I want to highlight and that I appreciate. As I’m creating, it always reminds me that there are so many bigger problems outside of myself, and there are so many things around us that are here to support us, like all of these plants and animals and the ecosystem that we don’t always consider fully. I like to remind people how precious the earth is, with my work. That we need to take care of it, and that all of this is here for us. I just want to remind people of that beauty.
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