Andrea Alvin

Andrea Alvin paints still lifes. She captures a moment, a piece of nostalgia, or a remembrance. Her work evokes the feelings that “I remember having that,” or “that was my favorite”…

Growing up in Fresno California, the daughter of a beautician and a cattleman, with a standard poodle for a pet, it is no wonder that a sense of humor permeates her work. Spending blazing hot summers in a chlorine - induced haze, with a Popsicle in one hand and a pencil and paper in the other, she began her art career at an early age.

“For as long as I can remember, I knew I would be an artist.“

Alvin graduated from the prestigious Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles CA, (now of Pasadena) in Advertising Design. After graduation, she immediately began working as an animation layout artist and designer at television commercial ﬁlm production houses. She contributed creatively to many national and regional commercials and numerous ﬁlms for The Children’s' Television Network. She produced and directed three ﬁlms for the permanent exhibit Electricity at the Los Angeles Museum of Science and Industry. She worked as a layout artist for Hanna Barbera working on the television series Flintstones Comedy Hour, CB Bears, and Superfriends.

Alvin began painting and exhibiting her unique art in various galleries and venues throughout California. In 1989 she joined ranks with her husband, internationally renowned illustrator, John Alvin, creating their own design and illustration studio specializing in key art for movie posters. Andrea Alvin has contributed to the design and creation of ad campaigns for such movies as: Batman Returns and Batman Forever, The Mighty, Innocent Blood, Grumpier Old Men for Warner Bros., Pinocchio, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Mulan and The Little Mermaid for Disney Studios; Doc Hollywood and Jurassic Park for Universal.

Alvin co-illustrated books for Disney Publishing with John Alvin and together they created package art for Disney Consumer Products for supermarket food product lines geared toward children. The clients included Kellogg’s cereals, MinuteMaid and Coca Cola.

In 2003 Alvin moved from Los Angeles to New York’s Hudson Valley to pursue her ﬁne art career. She continued to paint throughout her commercial career and it is now her full time occupation. She has exhibited in art galleries throughout the US. Her work inﬂuenced by Pop Art and Photorealism. The subjects are very American – post-war, baby-boomer, middle-class American. It’s not apple pie, but Oreo cookies and Necco Wafers as cultural and historical icons that a 60 year old and a 20 year old can reminisce about. Alvin says, “I love the idea of everyday objects or products, taken beyond the magazine, billboard or TV ad, and lovingly gloriﬁed and idealized.”

Regardless of the subject matter, and her adherence to realism, these are works of art and must stand on the merits of art. Alvin designs the composition as if it were a study in color and form. She has the ability to combine abstraction and representation. She has a painterly style not expected from one who paints realism. At close range, the paint and brush strokes are very evident, but devolve photographically when viewed from a distance. Andrea Alvin’s art eludes categorization in the same moment that it drives home indelible and familiar icons. The ﬁnal effect is intensely personal to the viewer and yet broadly reminiscent of an era that binds us irrevocably together.

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