Almost There: Works in Watercolor

Empire State College Student Dennis Andrukat

July 30, 2009 to Sept. 15, 2009

Artist's Statement

Growing up in a working-class neighborhood outside Buffalo, I spent most of my time drawing and painting things around me starting at the early age of four. My father was a carpenter and occasionally took me with him to job sites where he would place me on a blanket with a hammer, box of nails, crayons and scrap pieces of wood. When I became tired of hammering, I would draw on the wood. My father would yell out special requests such as dinosaur, tree, or mountain just to keep me busy. This is my first recollection of how art connected me to other people.

I attended commercial art school in Pittsburgh but always felt the pull of fine art and drawing. My work includes a variety of subjects from landscapes, people and pet portraits, still life and abstract in media ranging from pen & ink to sculpture. Although the detailed work of others is interesting because of the discipline it requires, I have become more interested with simplified works that give only a hint of the mood and subject.

Being able to express myself through art, using photographs, sketches or feelings from my imagination gives me great satisfaction. I create because I need to bring ideas into form and to connect with others through my work and the skills I’ve learned.

— D.B. Andrukat, May 2009

Pictures of the Opening Reception

Questions?

Contact Michael Mancini, Assistant to the Dean

315-472-5730