CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -Many NFL players wind down after a day of practice and meetings by playing video games, listening to their iPods or watching movies.

James Anderson gets out his paintbrush.

``Actually I just went and bought some canvasses. I think I'm going to start doing a painting of my house,'' the Carolina Panthers' rookie linebacker said this week. ``It's just a little way to get my mind off things.''

Anderson has a lot on his mind this week as he prepares to perhaps make his first NFL start on Sunday when the Panthers visit Cincinnati. Starting outside linebacker Thomas Davis has a rib injury and is listed as questionable, though he did practice Friday for the first time this week.

``It's a big opportunity just to get the chance to go out there and play,'' said Anderson, who played most of the second half last Sunday in Baltimore after Davis went down. ``It's unfortunate that it had to happen like this. Hopefully (Davis) is still going to come in and play, but it's a big opportunity for me.''

Anderson, who majored in studio art at Virginia Tech, got interested in painting as a youngster, trying to draw and trace characters he saw in cartoons and comic books.

``It was an enjoyable pastime for me, besides playing Pop Warner football and playing video games,'' Anderson said. ``That was something that was different that let me be creative and open.''

He now focuses on abstract art and said he's most proud of a recently completed series of paintings.

``It's a series called Graffiti,'' Anderson said. ``What happened with that was I went to the inner city in Los Angeles. I was actually working in the inner city there. There's graffiti everywhere you go. So I saw that and thought it would make a good painting, and I actually did a three-part series.''

Anderson, who said he has recently started playing the piano, has diverse interests, but it was his hard-hitting style on the field that caused coach John Fox to select him in the third round of April's draft. Anderson made an immediate impact by recording three sacks in the preseason.

``We saw value in him during the evaluation process, and he's come in and learned the defense,'' Fox said. ``He's been somewhat a quick study as far as the mental approach. He's playing behind another young linebacker, and now he's being called on. He's been in our sub packages, but he stepped in last week on an every-down basis and did pretty good for a first time out.''

Anderson said the transition to the NFL has been difficult, especially adjusting to the hours of film work and preparation. It makes his quiet time alone in front of the canvass more soothing.

``It kind of allows you to get into your own little world,'' said Anderson, who hopes to open his own art studio in his home. ``You put on your headphones and start painting, it's like just you and the paint. I know that sounds kind of artsy, but it's a way to unwind. A lot of people have different ways to unwind. A lot of people go to the beach to relax. Painting is what does it for me.''

But in the rough and tumble, macho world of football, Anderson acknowledged he has gotten some ribbing for his hobby.

``Every once in a while someone would say something like, 'Painting is for pansies,''' Anderson said. ``But a lot of guys find it interesting. A lot of guys think it's a neat thing to be able to do because a lot of guys can't draw or don't have that artistic side. It's very interesting.''

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