In a medieval hill town founded by the Etruscans that sits in the heart of Tuscany and floats high above the Val di Chiana plain, the artist first found what a writer would call, her “voice.” For a painter, however, voice is not constructed of words or syllables, quatrains or rhythmic verse, but of palette and brush stroke and pure inspiration.
In that moment over a decade ago, sitting at a café outside the Palazzo Communale, Andrea Steorts discovered what became the foundation for her early work, and what would be the impetus that every artists hopes for, a yearning that cannot be satiated without continuing to create.
The ruins of Cortona’s Etruscan past along with the contributions of Signorelli and Berettini, launched Andrea’s study of the great masters, heading south through Umbria, then on to Florence, and ending up in Rome. As she studied Michelangelo and Rafael, she put paint on canvas, learning to decipher color and movement and light in ways that the casual onlooker cannot see. Through a period of in depth study of religious art from the Byzantine era and a passion for Italian Renaissance, a style and vision emerged that has become the present day signature of Andrea Steorts as an artist.
Today, while the unmistakable influence of Italy’s history remains in her work, she now incorporates flavors of the Middle East, of Latin America, and of a sense of emotion and knowing inherent in masters of a craft. Andrea’s paintings of women have faces that are at moments so present, that they seem to communicate from the canvas. Whether we have intruded on a private moment in The Two Sisters, or are voyeurs watching a quiet meditation in The Dream, the paintings evoke response.
Andrea Steorts has exhibited in La Jolla, Santa Barbara, Milan, and San Francisco and sold her original paintings and giclees in the United States and Europe through galleries and high-end department stores. Andrea owned a successful art gallery in downtown San Diego’s historic Gaslamp district until January 2002.
She resides and works just south of San Diego where she teaches art classes and continues to produce work for her patrons. She continues to travel to Europe regularly.