(American, b. 1943)
Throughout her life, Andrea Raft has found herself drawn to art and the expressiveness it offers. She first studied painting at the Brentwood Art Center in Los Angeles. Where under its auspices she traveled to Giglio, Italy, to study and paint. It was in Giglio that Andrea developed her interest in layered colors and texture. The walls, doors, and streets of the 11th century old walled city inspired her to paint in overlapping layers, revealing a certain patina and history. Subsequently, Raft spent six years in the Bahamas, where she was tutored by her proximity of the sea and by the unhurried pace of life around her, more recently in the countryside of California’s central coast, and now residing in the Coachella Valley. Each shift from ancient to modern, from urban to rural, from land to sea and desert, from east to west as well as her travels to Asia have enriched Andrea’s artistic perceptions, enabling her to study, paint and show her work professionally in a host of disparate environments. Andrea is currently a member of the National Association of Women Artists, Women Painters West, Collage Artists of America, and Artist Council of Palm Springs Art Museum.
In my work, I am most responsive to the natural world. Finding in it complex textures and earthen hues, the mood for my own canvasses. I prefer abstract color fields choosing to evoke an impression or feeling from the viewer. Found objects, collage papers, rocks, metal and most recent the use of photographs, are revealed within my mixed media pieces. My love of texture along with simplicity are founded on the principles of Asian style and eastern philosophy, blended with the influence of Mark Rothko and Anselm Keifer, two of my favorite artists. I have begun to collaborate and exhibit with my son Aaron Sedway, a world-class sports/nature photographer, bringing two very disparate sensibilities juxtaposed to create a new art form. Infusing original photographic images with fine art. His attention to detail and bold expression paired with my fondness for Chinese culture, spirituality and abstract design have become a metaphor for our mother and son relationship. Through our love of color, texture and the making of art we have to come to find spirit in nature and in our own connection to one another. Art Heals.
For full resume, view PDF below
Selected Solo Exhibitions
THE STUDIO GALLERY Featured Artist February 2015
CODA GALLERY Featured Artist May 2, 2014
BRAND LIBRARY January 2009 Glendale, CA
FORTINI HOME AND GARDEN San Luis Obispo, CA October 2006
Selected Juried Exhibitions
Ventura County Government Building “Wax Pixels and Paint” Group Show
Artists 111 Ventura County, CA 2013
CODA Gallery “Wax Pixels and Paint” Artists 111 Group Show, Palm Desert, CA 2013
Howard’s Back Door Gallery Artists 111 Group Show, Rancho Mirage, CA 2013
Awards
Palm Springs Public Arts Commission Honorable Mention Palm Springs, CA
California State Fair 2009 Mixed Media Division Award of Excellence Sacramento CA
California State Fair 2008 Mixed Media Division Award of Excellence Sacramento CA
Image-ination Award Honorable Mention Collage Artists Juried Show Burbank 2008
Education
Cuesta College Fine Arts Program, San Luis Obispo, CA
Allan Hancock College, Fine Arts Program, Santa Maria, CA
Brentwood Art Center, School of Fine Art, Brentwood, CA
B. A. University of California at Northridge, Northridge, CA 1975
Organizations
Collage Artists of America
ISAP International Society of Acrylic Painters Signature Member
N.A.W.A. National Association of Women Artist’s Juried Member
Women Painters West Juried Active Member
