Drawing by Andrea Gomez Zimmer

To be or not to be

My name is Andrea and I am originally from Caracas, Venezuela. Art has always had a special place in my heart. As a child I would sit for hours drawing and coloring in my grandmother’s kitchen while she cooked. Every summer my grandmother and I would paint a mural of butterflies and flowers on the back wall of her garden. My talent comes from my late grandmother, and I feel that art is a a way that I can honor her memory. I now live in beautiful Philadelphia and attended an atelier for a year and half, but had to drop out for financial reasons.

I still enjoy painting, drawing and illustration. However, I am in need of professional guidance in order to advance my skills. I feel my biggest challenges in art are with composition and capturing realistic light and shadow. I also struggle with drawing hands and feet. I hope to learn better shading techniques, how to more accurately depict a likeness, proportional anatomy and composition. I also enjoy architectural illustration, and would love learn about more about it. Philadelphia’s buildings are an inspiration to me, where the old architecture meets with the new.

The Drawing Academy has a stellar website, and the lesson plans appear to be well structured and challenging. I would love to win the Drawing Academy course because I know I could benefit greatly from the instructors. The online format would be perfect for me as I work full time and have a family.

For my entry, I chose to enter a figure study in which I used graphite and blended with pencils. I wanted to use shading to portray the subject’s emotions. I hope people will recognize my raw talent and cast their vote for my entry. I still have so much to learn and am eager to be challenged!