A specific color. A captivating play of light. A moment in time. A mood or an unusual perspective. These are the inspirations that speak to my soul and inspire me to create. The challenge and process of replication are what motivates me to create.
Originating with her first drawing on her Playskool Chalkboard, Florida artist Andrea McKoy has nurtured her passion for creative expression over her lifetime. Outside of a few art classes in high school and college, Andrea is chiefly self-taught as a painter and is formally trained as a graphic artist. She took to painting full-time in 2017.
She is fascinated by both equine and human figures—as these are the primary themes of her paintings. She trained and showed horses during her youth throughout the state of Florida. This sentiment is what fuels her passion for exploring horses in her paintings today. As for the human figure—Andrea feels it is one of the most challenging subjects for any artist. She is continuously amazed at how easily the smallest mark can change an entire expression.
“The more I paint, the more I see that I have yet to paint,” she says about her motivation. She finds her inspiration in capturing light, movement, moods, and unique perspectives. She thrives on the creative challenge of manipulating color, texture, and composition to interpret her observations. Yet, she does admit her favorite moments of the painting process are the unplanned happy accidents.
She works primarily with oils, although occasionally she returns to acrylics, watercolors, pastels and even sculpture for creative variety. Her love of texture leads her to experiment with different application methods, and this occasionally includes mixed media.
Andrea’s work is found in private collections across the U.S.
Education
BS, Visual Communications – Westwood College, Denver, CO
AS, Graphic Design – Brevard Community College, Melbourne, FL
Awards:
2022 Boldbrush – September, Finalist
2021 Flagler County Art League Virtual Online Show – “Faces & Figures”, Finalist
2019 Strawbridge Art League/Foosaner Art Museum – Annual “Vision” Show – Two Merit Awards
2014 Strawbridge Art League/Foosaner Art Museum – Annual “Vision” Show – Merit Award
1998 Best in Show 3D sculpture – Brevard Community College Student Art Show
1997 SIGGRAPH Student Poster and Animation competition – Digital art, Exhibited Internationally
1978 First place, printmaking – Duval County School District Art Show
Group Exhibitions & Shows:
2020 Fifth Avenue Art Gallery “100% Pure”
2019 Viera Art Festival
2019 Orlando Museum of Art “Age of Aquarius”
2018 Eau Gallie Artworks
2013 Nude Night Orlando
Instructors and Workshops:
2024 Zhaoming Wu – 2-day Online workshop
2023 Mary Whyte – Portrait Society Conference Workshop
2023 Dominique Medici- Portrait Society Conference Workshop
2018 & 2008 Frits Van Eeden – Foosaner Art Museum, Ridley’s Art and Frame
1998-1999 Nancy Dillon – Art instructor Brevard Community College
1978-2009 Rene Wilke – Art instructor at GCS Middle School & mentor until her passing
Relative Experience:
2012 Founded NoodlePetz pool toys – created sculpture prototypes as the models for the toy production
1991-1997 Visual Display Manager – Burdines, Melbourne
Affiliations:
National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society – NOAPS
Portrait Society of America
Previous Affiliations:
Oil Painters of America
American Academy of Equine Art
Foosenar Art Museum
Orlando Museum of Art
Strawbridge Art League
Andrea receiving a Merit Award from judge Frits van Eeden at the 2014 Vision Art Show at the Viera Art Gallery.