musetouch_issue_28

Veronica Winter
Who are you Veronica?
I was born and raised in Moscow, Russia. I call myself Russian-American artist as part of
me always belongs to my native country although I’ve been living in the U.S. for over 16 years,
all my adult life really. I got my BA in Business Administration from Zelenograd Business College
and the University of Tulsa and I got lucky to go to Tulsa, OK on a scholarship in 1996. I knew I
wanted to stay in the US after that because I saw real opportunities in this country as opposed
to living in Russia. It took me a while to relocate but as I did I became more interested in Art
than business and I started taking art classes at the Tulsa Community College and the University
of Tulsa when my son was born. After a while I began commuting to the Oklahoma State
University to get my Bachelor’s degree in studio art. It was a very difficult time for me because
our child was still very little and a 90-minute commute one-way with all the classes and homework
were exhausting for me.
After graduation in 2003, I got accepted to study for my Master’s at Penn State and we
moved to State College, PA. Instead of staying in a small college town there for just two years
we lived there for a decade. After graduation in 2005, there were zero art jobs available around
town. I slowly started taking classes in classical drawing and painting at the Grand Central Academy
of Art and t he Art Student’s League of New York. I felt like I had my vision in place but I lacked necessary
skill to paint well what I wanted to communicate. Sometimes I stayed in New
York for a month during one summer month and other times I commuted by bus back and forth
in one day(which was 5-8 hours one-way depending on the weather conditions and traffic). I
enjoyed my time spent there in class, although the commute was exhausting. I felt like I was
learning a lot but never had enough time, finances, and opportunity to be there full-time.
My family was always a priority for me. I slowly began building my own business teaching
privately in my studio and part-time in local art organization back in State College. I’ve painted
murals, exhibited, and sold some of my work as well.
Yet, I always dreamed of painting for a living and with no regrets, I’ve decided to move on and settle
in beautiful Naples (in 2013), in southwest Florida. Here I’ve started working on my new portfolio
of paintings that I define as “imaginative realism.” I’m associated with “Gallery on Fifth” in Naples
now and I’m sure I’ll be more involved with other galleries in the future. As I’ve
been teaching drawing for about ten years in my studio and publicly, I developed a teaching
strategy to educate committed students. This strategy transformed into my art books that are
sold on my website-VeronicasArt.com and Amazon.
Why do you paint?
There is no clear “why” for me. It’s a need and we have emotional needs at times that can’t be
explained logically. I’ve noticed that if I don’t paint, I become angry.
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