Anita Easterwood

Born and raised in the Kansas City area and based in Kansas City, Anita Easterwood is a nationally recognized visual artist, illustrator, and portrait artist. Her work celebrates life, Black culture, fashion, history, and sisterhood through traditional drawing, digital art, oil painting, and a unique hatching technique. She is also an educator and mentor in the local arts community. Heavy Kansas City influence is central to her life, work, and contributions.

Biography

Early life

Anita Easterwood was born and raised in the Kansas City area (noted as Overland Park, Kansas in some profiles). Her discovery of art began early, influenced by her father, Lucky Easterwood, who is also an artist. She explored her love for art through local experiences and education.

Arrival in / connection to Kansas City

Born and raised in the Kansas City metro, Anita has deep roots in the area. She received her BA in Art from Kansas State University and MA in African American Studies from the University of Kansas. She remains based in Kansas City, actively contributing to the local creative scene.

Career / contribution

Anita is a professional fine artist and illustrator whose portraits are known for evoking emotion and her distinctive hatching technique. Her work celebrates Blackness through culture, fashion, history, and sisterhood.

She has illustrated children’s books, created murals (including one with her father featured in local media), and had work published in American Art Collector and by The New York Times. Her art has been exhibited locally and nationally.

She serves as an educator and mentor, guiding others in the arts. Her practice is guided by love of history and literature, often incorporating storytelling elements.

Later years

As of recent years, Anita continues to create, exhibit, and educate in Kansas City. She participates in local events, commissions, and community projects, maintaining a strong presence in the KC arts ecosystem while gaining national recognition.

Defining contributions to Kansas City

1. Creating visual art that centers Black experiences and KC cultural themes, enriching the local arts landscape and public spaces (e.g., murals).
2. Mentoring and educating in the KC arts community, passing on techniques and passion for art/history.
3. Producing work published and exhibited that brings KC perspectives to broader audiences while staying rooted locally.
4. Collaborations like family murals that highlight KC family and community stories.

Cultural legacy

Anita Easterwood’s art celebrates life and community in a way that resonates deeply with Kansas City’s diverse heritage. Her portraits and illustrations serve as visual stories that honor Black culture and local history. As a KC-based artist with national reach, she helps define contemporary KC visual arts and inspires the next generation of local creators.

Contemporaries + collaborators

• Local KC artists and the ArtsKC community.
• Her father, Lucky Easterwood (collaborative murals).
• Educators and cultural institutions in KC (e.g., K-State, KU ties, local galleries).

Sites in KC associated with this person

• Kansas City galleries and exhibit spaces (e.g., Art in the Loop, local museums).
• Murals and public art in the KC metro.
• Her studio and educational programs in Kansas City.

Source materials

• Official site anitaeasterwood.com
• ArtsKCGo and VoyageKC profiles.
• Instagram @anita_easterwood
• Local media (Kansas City Star, The Pitch, K-State Union).

Controversies + complexity

None noted; her work focuses on celebration, education, and positive representation.

Sources