Born in Buffalo, New York in 1945, Andy has always had a love of art and for
creating imaginative lands of well-being. As a boy, he often entertained the
neighborhood kids with his clay model cities of unique architectural structures.
Finger-painting in kindergarten was his first and last encounter with formal
art training and he still uses this technique today to smooth and blend paint.
Andy's love of art and creativity was shared and encouraged by his aunt, a painter
and architectural draftsperson. Even though he held such non-art related jobs
as steel worker, life insurance salesman, field investigator, car rental manager,
and electronic parts salesman, this could not stifle the passion and desire
Andy had for pursuing his dream.
At about age thirty, having dabbled in various self-improvement techniques,
Andy began to experience dream after dream of incredible lands of peace, beauty,
and tranquility where one could skate across the landscape on thin air or soar
into the sky to see the splendor below. There was beautiful, unique foliage
and incredible architecture. He had many of these dreams, which inspired him
to share them with the world through his art. From his dreams he was able to
develop his own unique style.
Once his art style was established, he began to mix in his own imagination
and experiences. He would see something and immediately transform it into his
own original dreamscape style. A glazing technique of layering thin washes of
color over another proved to be the best technique to achieve that soft illuminated
effect. The colors seem to glow within, enhancing the dreamlike quality. Andy
began showing and selling his work gradually at first.
Demand for his art increased to the point where, in 1991, he took the leap
to full-time artist and hasn't looked back since. Traveling became an enjoyable
way to experience new ideas as well as sell his work. As his travel experiences
expanded, so did his palette. He began painting the warm colors of the Arizona
red rocks and the cool tropical colors of Maui beaches.
Experiencing new places helped deepen his understanding of life - its harmony,
its varied means of expressing beauty, its constant change, and the miracle
of underlying energy.
Today, Andy is a signature member of the National Acrylic Painters Association
(NAPA) with headquarters in England and a member of the Buffalo Society of Artists.
His artwork is well represented in corporate and private collections in the
United States and abroad including GTE, Aero Instruments and Avionics, Armand
Castellani (Castellani Art Museum), General Motors, and celebrity artist Peter
Max.
Andy's work is constantly evolving, yet always hanging on to that dream-like
quality. If asked how he feels about his painting, he would reply, "My
dreams have definitely come true!" Ravensburger HistoryRavensburger Spieleverlag GmbH is a German game company and market leader in the European jigsaw puzzle market.
The company was founded by Otto Robert Maier with seat in Ravensburg, a town in Upper Swabia in southern Germany. He began publishing in 1883 with his first author contract. He started publishing instruction folders for craftsmen and architects, which soon acquired him a solid financial basis. His first board game appeared in 1884, named "Journey around the world".
At the turn of the 20th century, his product line broadened to include picture books, books, children’s activity books, Art Instruction manuals, non-fiction books, and reference books as well as children’s games, Happy Families and activity kits. In 1900, the Ravensburger blue triangle trademark was registered with the Imperial Patent office. As of 1912, many board and activity games had an export version that was distributed to Western Europe, the countries of the Danube Monarchy as well as Russia.
Before the First World War, Ravensburger had around 800 products. The publishing house was damaged during the Second World War and continued to produce games in the years of the reconstruction. The company focused on children's games and books and specialized books for art, architecture and hobbies, and from 1962 grew strongly. The company started to produce jigsaw puzzle games in 1964, and in the same year opened subsidiaries in Austria, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. In 1977 the company split into a book publishing arm and a game publishing arm.
Today there are approximately 1,800 available books and 850 games as well as puzzles, hobby products and CD-ROM titles at Ravensburger and its subsidiaries, which include Alea for "hobby and ardent game players" and FX Schmid for games and children's books. Ravensburger products are exported to more than fifty countries.
In September 2010, Ravensburger broke Educa's record for the world's largest jigsaw puzzle of 24,000 pieces. Ravensburger's new puzzle design by late pop artist Keith Haring titled, 'Keith Haring: Double Retrospect' breaks the Guinness Book of World Records measuring 17' × 6' built from 32,256 pieces and comes with its own dolly cart for toting. |