by Christy Rodriguez de Conte

In celebration of Tallahassee’s Bicentennial, the Council on Culture & Arts will highlight a specific artist or organization each month that is the epitome of artistic ambition in our capital city. The spotlight on Natalia Andreeva & LeMoyne Art’s Bicentennial Brew exhibition is the Artistic Ambition spotlight for February.

From portraits to still lifes to beer can art, Natalia Andreeva conveys the essence of everyday life with the stroke of a paintbrush.

To celebrate Tallahassee’s Bicentennial, Andreeva’s “Fall Colors” submission will be printed on cans of Proof’s Bicentennial Brew and launched at LeMoyne’s Chain of Parks Art Festival in April. With this winning piece, Andreeva has captured the essence of Tallahassee. The selected designs will be on display in LeMoyne’s Albrecht & Hoover Gallery space through Feb. 24.

Although detail is essential to painting a genuinely great piece, the power of capturing the essence of a person, place, thing, or idea must be balanced. For artist Natalia Andreeva, it is the act of this discovery that has led to a lifelong commitment to capturing authenticity in her art.

Andreeva’s artistic journey began at an early age in Russia, where she and her family lived, laughed, and loved any creative form of expression. From architectural designs to plein-air paintings, her family embraced the visual arts and created an artistically nurturing and encouraging environment.

Andreeva cannot pinpoint one specific person or encounter that launched her artistic interests and ultimate career. “Reflecting on my first encounter with a paintbrush, it’s a bit like tracing the roots of a tree deeply embedded in a rich artistic heritage,” Andreeva said.

Still, Andreeva found art to be a profound source of interest and curiosity that led her to pursue higher education in the field of art at the Novosibirsk Pedagogical University and Moscow University, where her training focused on a diverse understanding of computer graphics and animation.

Read more on the Tallahassee Democrat.