No Paint, No Gain

At times, it is hard to take Christon Anderson seriously.

The 43-year-old Panama City native is a serious artist. His works have won awards and been on display in galleries and private collections. His abstracts and mixed media pieces are known for their intellectual depth and meaning.

But taking in his unmistakable laugh as he sits on a stool under his Giraffstronauts creation, the conversation begins on a light-hearted note. The mural behind him depicts a giant tennis shoe with a giraffe astronaut sticking its neck out from inside the shoe, with a second, smaller Giraffstronaut to match. Anderson painted them both.

With his unmistakable laugh, Anderson says the folks at El Weirdo, an upscale taco joint in downtown Panama City, called on local artists they felt where “a little out there” to express themselves by painting murals on just about every inch of wall space in the restaurant. The restaurant sought artists to help create an atmosphere to match the name.

“I guess my work fits that description,” Anderson says with a smile. “I can’t deny it.”

Anderson has spent over 35 years flirting with being different as an artist. As a kid he was constantly doodling.

“It was just me and my kitchen table until a teacher in the fifth grade recognized I had talent,” he says.

Photo by Mike Fender

That teacher, Linda Brown, encouraged him and told him he should do something with his talent. He kept doodling and tried other forms of art when he got to Mosley High School. But sports like baseball and football began to take precedence. Still, at night, he found time for art at the kitchen table.

Like many kids, Anderson had big league dreams, hoping sports might land him a college scholarship to help him pursue his art fixation. It didn’t work out that way.

A stint in the army came for him. And when he returned, he started painting, but he’d moved beyond just the canvas. He started painting houses as a side hustle, something he still does today, even with his art visible on walls all over town.

“It might bother most artists, but it’s not one of those things that bothers me,” Anderson says. 

With a wife and two kids, ages 16 and 12, house painting helps pay the bills. The art industry can be unpredictable, and sides jobs are often a reality for artists in smaller cities. Too, Anderson finds peace in the banality of house painting.

“It can be very zen,” he says.

Anderson remembers his early works very well. On nights after baseball or football practice he would return home and paint.

“I was using the same five boards,” he says shaking his head. “I would paint a piece, kind of critique it, and then paint over it, paint something new.”

Looking up at his giraffes, Anderson’s voice trails off as he reflects on the innumerable pieces that were never seen. Lucky for us, some of them stuck around.

The idea for the Giraffstronauts came during a brainstorming session Anderson had with El Weirdo’s marketing manager Eric Darnell.

“Just about every wall at El Weirdo has a different theme,” Darnell says. “We knew we wanted to do something with outer space and the moon landing.”

Since the wall they had chosen for the mural was big, Darnell said they needed something really tall.

“We started thinking about tall things and giraffes were mentioned—boom! Giraffes in space,” Darnell recalls. “Christon is just a cool cat, and his art is always a vibe in and of itself.”

These days the creative ideas that fill Anderson’s head spill out onto list after list of works he wants to do.

Photo by Mike Fender

“I have lists I find here and there, some in the back of old sketch pads,” he says. “If I could compile all of these lists, it would really be something.”

Anderson says the ideas are continuously coming, so new lists are constantly being made. He knows he may never get to all of them. He hopes the lists of prospective buyers will continue to grow, too, even beyond his years to come.

“I want to reach a plateau where people are clamoring to get my work after I am gone,” he says. “Just not anytime soon,” he quickly adds.

Anderson gets a bit reflective when the discussion turns toward post-mortem success. Still, the idea excites him. For many artists, Anderson notes, their work dies with them.

“I think that would be great,” he says. “I mean to make it to a point where people think my work is worth more after I am gone, that really says something.”

For now, Anderson remains focused on his unending lists full of unfulfilled ideas. For now, he forges on with work to be done, doodles to pencil, murals to paint, and gallery shows to enter.

And, inevitability, someone will call with a house to be painted.