“Painting and drawing are not about talent, but about welcoming challenges and practicing patience”

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Andy draws inspiration for his paintings and drawings from the tradition of Bouguereau, Velasquez, Rubens, Carravaggio, Rembrandt and the Renaissance painters. He has travelled extensively in Europe to study the art of the old masters.

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He achieved post-graduate studies in psychology at the New School University in New York, after graduating with a master’s in clinical psychology at the Long Island University where he also obtained his bachelor’s in art and sciences with a minor in Art History.

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While working as a therapist and researcher in New York City, he attended and assisted art classes and workshops at The Art Students League and the Grand Central Atelier and also studied at the Academy of Realist Art in Canada and the Florence Academy of Art in Italy.

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In 2016, he left his job in New York to fully embrace his true calling in classical art and established himself in Vienna, Austria where he founded the “Vienna Atelier of Traditional Art – VATA”. Apart from running the atelier proper, he has been teaching several classes in “Basic Drawing and Painting Techniques” and conducted workshops in Plein-Air, Flower and Animal Painting and “Copying the old Masters”.

He completed an internship in 2019 and received a certificate from the Russian Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg, Russia.

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​Andy has had several exhibitions in the USA and his work can be found in both American and European private collections. He is an active member of the Portrait Society of America and the Austrian Professional Association of Visual Artists. He was honored to be included in a book published by Schönbrunn Palace in 2021, commemorating Professional Fine Artists in Austria.