This year the Art Renewal Center (ARC) has inaugurated Angel Academy alumnus Vicki Sullivan into their category of ARC Living Master.
The title is the ARC’s highest honor and is given to affiliated artists who demonstrate command over the art fundamentals as taught by the masters of prior centuries. ARC Living Masters have successfully created an identifiable body of work which demonstrates their understanding of the craft and its traditions. And their work exhibits strong, poetic sensibilities which intertwine great universal subjects with powerful original compositions.
“It really is thanks to the Angel Academy of Art that I was able to progress to this stage in my work,” Vicki says. “I am so grateful that I found myself at such a fantastic Academy with the most wonderful teachers. It has changed my life.”
Vicki began her art journey at age 16 when she studied full time at Frankston Technical College (now Monash) in Australia. It was there that she learned a lot about different mediums. Afterward she went to University to continue her studies, but all along the way she found that painting realism was discouraged and not taught because it was deemed unfashionable for the time.
In 2009 Vicki heard about the Angel Academy of Art, where the methods of the old masters were still being taught. With a burning desire to learn these methods Vicki set her goal to study there.
“I was extremely impressed by the high quality of the work which the students were producing and I knew this was where I needed to go to fulfill my longing to be able to produce high quality work,” Vicki says.
Driven by her desire to learn the old realist methods Vicki saved up money for several years until finally, in 2014, she was able to fly to Florence and study under the tutelage of Maestro Michael John Angel.
“It was the most amazing experience,” she says. “Drawing long pose academic drawings of a model in three-hour sessions for 27 hours really helped my observational drawing and painting skills. The course also covered anatomy, composition, materials, art history and many other useful subjects. Skill is highly valued at the Angel Academy of Art.”
Vicki graduated Angel Academy in 2019, but ever since taking that initial step toward pursuing her dream Vicki has found exciting opportunities open up for her. From teaching gigs to gallery exhibits and numerous awards Vicki has found that “even if it takes years, it’s always important to follow your passion.”
“Working towards our dreams can take time so it’s also important to enjoy the journey along the way. Each small step is one step closer on the journey to becoming a better artist so it is important to keep working, and to also celebrate every little step forward.”
To see Vicki’s work, you can visit her website: https://vickisullivan.com/
And be sure to check out her ARC Living Masters page: https://www.artrenewal.org/artists/vicki-sullivan/7518
