ART GALLERY IN TRUCKEE, CA
Andrea Franco (1971)

Andrea Franco discovered early on her passion for the arts!
As a child she has always been enchanted by the magical world of crayons, paints, drawings, and has always enjoyed whatever medium she would be working with at any time, where ever she might be. Her desire and willingness to improve and become a professional artist led her to becoming part of the Faculty of Fine Arts (1992) at Campinas University where she specialized in oil on canvas. Since then, she has dedicated her art entirely to this magical world of children especially little girls wrapped in a world where there are no cares.

Prior to starting a painting she will build a scenario where all the elements interact with each other. This requires much research and thorough study leading to the first sketch on paper, concluding with the composition drawn on screen. She spends so much time and attention to the detail with each of her paintings that her production is about 4 final paintings a year, picturing the children life-sized in every painting.

This artists has her own specialized technique involving many steps and where she herself makes the shade of paint to give them a special translucent effect.

Andrea's works can be found in private collections in Brazil as well as around the world in expositions. Among the galleries her work can be found in the USA include Overseas Arts LLC- Discovery in Maryland, Creekside Gallery in Utah and Art Works Gallery in Pennsylvania. 

 In Andrea Franco's words:

The malleability of oil painting medium gives me the ability to "draw" with the paint brush the image that is in my mind. Seeing the image screen by screen, little by little, come alive brings me much joy! It is this joy that keeps me easily putting in so many hours painting daily, often 10 hours or more.

I use my own variation in developing my inks, my own range of colors using a Flemish technique (glazing, glacis). This part I do long before I start painting on the prepared canvas. For every painting, I spend days developing the idea, theme, researching images, colors and throughout the whole process this continues until the painting is complete. My dilemma has been that from beginning to end this process will take usually more than 120 days to complete a painting. I have trouble publishing my work through exhibitions, there are so few originals a year.

This dilemma was solved for me with the technique of the Giclee. I am now able to share my work with many that may want my original having seen a print that comes closest to the original.

Today I still continue my original process, slow as it is, knowing that I will be able to reach those that will enjoy it but cannot afford the cost or the time to wait for the original. This has changed my career for the good.

Andrea Franco