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b. 1979, Mt. Vernon OH

Biography

"Every emotion goes into my paintings - love, hate, joy, sadness - it's all in there. An amazing thing happens when you love hard and paint hard. You become one with the work. The mind can make paint do things, anything - make it behave in ways it shouldn't. The act of painting becomes spiritual. Once this happens, anything is possible."

Drew Ernst is a modern, contemporary, figurative painter. Drew attended the highly respected Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, America's oldest fine arts school. During his four years there, he polished his painting skills through studying with accomplished artists including Sidney Goldman, Peter Paone, and Bo Bartlett. As part of his training at PAFA, he drew from cadavers at the Hannaman Medical School in Philadelphia to learn the intricacies of the human form.

Beginning at the age of fifteen, Drew began drawing live models in figurative drawing classes at Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio. His attendance in these classes was arranged by Drew's mentor, Martin J. Garhart, Kenyon Art Professor, painter, and poet. At the same time, Drew was a watercolorist learning from high school teacher and superb watercolorist Chris Bunn. Watercolor was a great transition into oil painting for Drew.

Education