Artist Bio

David Lee Anderson has been an illustrator for over 30 years. He has done work for Oklahoma Gas & Electric, McCormick Foods, and the Smithsonian Institution, the Brookings Institution, and Johns Hopkins University Press. He taught illustration at Oklahoma City University, and taught art part-time from kindergarten through high school.

Piece Description

“In my third year exhibiting art at the Festival of the Arts downtown in late April 2018, an art patron told me he was interested in having me contribute a piece to an art project that had been going on for about 10 years for his company,” David Lee says. “Thomas Hill, Kimray CEO and third generation of the family business, asked me to join over 30 other regional artists in the interpretation of their signature product, engineered originally by the company co-founder, Garman Kimmell. The AAA gas regulator could be considered their ‘Model T,’ the one that made their reputation and became the foundation of the success of Kimray.

“Thomas commissioned this piece after he had seen my paintings, specializing in Oklahoma’s historical buildings and landscapes. He suggested that I paint in the background of the AAA a depiction of the original building, which was the first home for Kimray. This modest structure, a few blocks south of Britton Road on Western Avenue in Oklahoma City, was where the AAA was first developed. The building gives a unique historical context to the series of paintings. It still exists, so I took reference photographs at various angles and used a few references from 2003, where it was says to be similar in appearance to the original structure in 1948 where Kimray was founded.

“Using a surface of Masonite board, I sprayed it with many layers of white gesso to create a smooth ground. With medium to small watercolor brushes, I painted acrylic over a detailed pencil drawing, then sealed the surface with a gloss varnish, sprayed on for a smooth finish. The frame is based on the Kimray corporate color design.”