Andy Comisso

With a background in Graphic Design, I have always had an appreciation for the arts. I had spent 10 years in Advertising and came to the realization that the industry wasn’t for me, and that I wanted more time for my interests, especially my family. Wife and 3 kids. That was 21 years ago!

6 years ago I re-connected with my passion of the arts and began to explore the medium of Oil Painting and the great masters such as Sargent, Caravaggio, Duran and many more.

I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, but had an understanding of what I wanted and where I wanted to go. After purchasing the most cheapest and basic of materials, I commenced some online tutorials only to discover that I actually had a passion for it. 

With a competitive nature, I wanted to push myself further and began looking for classes to attend to further my knowledge and hunger to improve. When I came across VAS I was beside myself, that was 5 years ago. My teachers were Stephen Doyle, Ben Winspear, Nic Chen, Paul McDonald Smith and currently Greg Smith. I am truly thankful for all the knowledge I have obtained from them all.

I feel that my time at VAS has helped me progress beyond what I had imagined, to the point of gaining the courage to do a workshop overseas. I successfully completed a 4 week Workshop on Portraiture at the Angel Academy of Art in Florence this year. I was able to take what I learnt from VAS and in my studio at home and have a solid understanding of the lessons delivered in Florence. This in turn has helped my progress with further knowledge and desire of painting.

My passion is firstly Portraiture, then Still life. I find the challenge of capturing the human spirit and emotion to be a great quest of mine. I feel as though I’m some time away from total autonomy, but I’m definitely enjoying the journey!

On occasions I paint En Plein Air, appreciating the beauty of nature. 

I am so pleased to be part of the VAS Community and look forward to many more years of painting.