Andrew Ameral was born in San Francisco, California in 1969. It was obvious to family and friends, since his childhood, Andrew’s passion for drawing. “My earliest memories are of me in diapers with a pencil in my hand.” However, it would not be until Andrew was 25 years old when he would finally enroll in art school and receive the formal training he craved.
“I was 24 when I went on a four day fast on a mountain up in the state of Washington. I was up there looking for direction but honestly, I really didn’t know what to expect. Up on that beautiful mountain I was alone. Just me and the Earth. There where no distractions, not even food.”
“During the fast, I can remember feeling lonely, bored, and incredibly hungry – especially for the things in my life that were familiar. But I also remember moments of intense clarity and an appreciation and connection to something greater, that I had never felt before.”
“It was on the third night of my fast that I finally decided what I truly wanted in life. This was before I even knew what being and artist really meant. I just knew in my heart that it would be in this calling that I would be the happiest. I came back down from that mountain and immediately enrolled in art school.”
Andrew graduated with honors in 2000 from the California College of Arts and Crafts (CCAC) in Oakland, CA. While a senior at CCAC, Andrew was frustrated by the lack of real traditional training and took a leave of absence to further his studies abroad. He soon enrolled in The Florence Academy of Art (FAA) in Florence, Italy. The FAA introduced Andrew to sound fundamental skills and techniques he so very much craved. After studying in Florence for a year, he reluctantly returned home to California.
“After I returned from Florence I spent the following three years finishing up my studies at CCAC, working as an illustrator (doing both freelance and in-house work), apprenticing for a Bay Area sculptor, and teaching at a private studio in Oakland, California.”
In 2002, Andrew returned to The Florence Academy of Art to continue his academic training.
“That week before I flew out to Florence, Daniel Graves, the Director of the FAA, phoned me and asked me if I would teach an écorché class he wanted to offer his students. What a wonderful opportunity Daniel had given me and one I will always be grateful for. So when I returned to Florence, not only would I continue the academic training I started back in ’98-’99 but I would immediately be a teacher at one of the best traditional art schools in Europe if not the world.”
In six years, not only would Andrew finish the drawing and painting program offered at the FAA but also become their Director of Anatomy and one of their principle drawing instructors. Andrew developed and created an artistic anatomy and écorché course for the FAA uniquely his own, one that would be appreciated by the many students whom he has taught during his years living in Florence.
Andrew has finally returned home to California. He paints and teaches at a private studio in the Bay Area.
Andrew has received awards for his figure drawings including scholarships from the Art Renewal Center and the Stacey Foundation. He has a number of paintings and drawings that are privately owned in Europe and the United States.
“During those three years, I felt this intense pull to return to Florence. I knew I had touched on something that I had to finish. I wanted to be a painter, but a painter whose skills and craft come from, and express, the confidence and authority rooted within a strong academic tradition. A tradition that holds a critical understanding and a humble appreciation of nature as their goal and highest esteem. I had to go back to Florence and finish my training.”
TEACHING
2010 Founder, teacher of Golden Gate Atelier, Oakland, California
2009 – 2012 San Francisco Academy of Art University Graduate Fine Art Program
2002 – 2008 Director of Anatomy, The Florence Academy of Art
1999 – 2002 The Atelier School of Classical Realism
AWARDS
2008 Fellowship, 2nd Annual Hudson River School of Landscape – Jacob Collins, Instructor
2008 Finalist, 3 of my paintings awarded – The Artist’s Magazine 25th Annual Art Competition
2008 Gold Florin – In recognition for my contribution to the students of the Florence Academy of Art, Daniel Graves – Director
2006 Best Figure Painting – Florence Academy of Art (Porta Romana Studio)
2004 Fourth Place Purchase Award, Art Renewal Center
2001 First Place Scholarship – Round 2, Art Renewal Center
2001 The Stacey Scholarship
EXHIBITIONS
2011 Classical Portraiture: Three American Artists Trained in Florence, Artist Museum of Los Gatos, Los Gatos, California.
2010 Grand Opening, Llewellyn Gallery, Forestville, California.
2010 The Group Show, Arte Verissima Gallery, Oakland, California.
2009 Classical Realism, W. H. Patterson Gallery, London, England.
2008 Ten Years – Ten Year Anniversary Show, Grenning Gallery, Sag Harbor, New York.
2008 The Third Annual Florence Academy of Art Exhibition, W. H. Patterson Gallery, London, England.
2007 La Reazione Del Vero, Pisa (Santa Croce sull’Arno), Italy. A group exhibition focusing on realist artists academically trained here in Italy who can trace their lineage back to Filadelfo Simi (19th century Italian painter who was a student of Gerome in Paris). Of the works featured, one artist in particular was Annigonni (A 20th century Italian painter and famous for his portrait of Queen Elizabeth.
2007 The Second Annual Florence Academy of Art Exhibition, W. H. Patterson Gallery, London, England
2006 The Florence Academy of Art Second Annual Alumni Exhbition, Corsini Palace, Florence, Italy.
Vanitas, Portrait of Kate
By Andrew Ameral (Oil on Canvas) 35 x 22 Inches
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Nam varius iaculis erat, sed vestibulum enim dictum blandit. Donec ac orci diam. Morbi posuere, dui placerat fringilla ultrices, nisl lectus convallis eros, quis faucibus augue mi at odio. Quisque aliquam maximus facilisis. Donec vel fermentum metus. Duis hendrerit euismod arcu eget tincidunt. Proin malesuada nulla in risus congue accumsan. Cras sed congue ex, a bibendum turpis. Nulla viverra arcu pretium odio lobortis tincidunt. Suspendisse potenti.
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Vestibulum pulvinar risus at nisl consectetur, vel dapibus lacus euismod. In vitae orci non urna venenatis posuere. Maecenas et fermentum turpis. Suspendisse in nunc sem. Morbi dapibus sem nec mi accumsan, et tincidunt nisl pellentesque. Suspendisse sed nulla a est cursus consequat. Curabitur elementum orci ut ligula dignissim, in egestas purus vestibulum. Nam ac tempor metus. Fusce id tempus libero. Donec nec ipsum ornare, mattis est at, placerat est. Orci varius natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Nam elit lorem, egestas quis volutpat a, tincidunt id metus. Maecenas at ante risus. Quisque euismod turpis erat, non sodales tellus venenatis id. Aliquam iaculis nibh justo, ut eleifend eros pulvinar interdum. In hac habitasse platea dictumst.
Nam varius iaculis erat, sed vestibulum enim dictum blandit. Donec ac orci diam. Morbi posuere, dui placerat fringilla ultrices, nisl lectus convallis eros, quis faucibus augue mi at odio. Quisque aliquam maximus facilisis. Donec vel fermentum metus. Duis hendrerit euismod arcu eget tincidunt. Proin malesuada nulla in risus congue accumsan. Cras sed congue ex, a bibendum turpis. Nulla viverra arcu pretium odio lobortis tincidunt. Suspendisse potenti.
Interested in this piece? Please click the button below to email us about this piece.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Vestibulum pulvinar risus at nisl consectetur, vel dapibus lacus euismod. In vitae orci non urna venenatis posuere. Maecenas et fermentum turpis. Suspendisse in nunc sem. Morbi dapibus sem nec mi accumsan, et tincidunt nisl pellentesque. Suspendisse sed nulla a est cursus consequat. Curabitur elementum orci ut ligula dignissim, in egestas purus vestibulum. Nam ac tempor metus. Fusce id tempus libero. Donec nec ipsum ornare, mattis est at, placerat est. Orci varius natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Nam elit lorem, egestas quis volutpat a, tincidunt id metus. Maecenas at ante risus. Quisque euismod turpis erat, non sodales tellus venenatis id. Aliquam iaculis nibh justo, ut eleifend eros pulvinar interdum. In hac habitasse platea dictumst.
Nam varius iaculis erat, sed vestibulum enim dictum blandit. Donec ac orci diam. Morbi posuere, dui placerat fringilla ultrices, nisl lectus convallis eros, quis faucibus augue mi at odio. Quisque aliquam maximus facilisis. Donec vel fermentum metus. Duis hendrerit euismod arcu eget tincidunt. Proin malesuada nulla in risus congue accumsan. Cras sed congue ex, a bibendum turpis. Nulla viverra arcu pretium odio lobortis tincidunt. Suspendisse potenti.
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