A nationally known illustrator and watercolorist, Andrea Brooks creates her vibrant fruits and vegetables, glowing flowers and nature themes with a keen eye for nature’s beauty.

Although born in the Bronx, New York, she always remembers being interested in nature. As a youngster, trips to nearby city parks became fertile ground for sketching and painting. "I’ve always loved nature, "Andrea says, "so it wasn’t surprising that my first ventures with watercolor were focused on flowers and still life. Form and color, especially in flowers, are very exciting to me." She attended the prestigious Music & Art High School (later renamed LaGuardia High School) where she further honed her skills and widened her art horizons.

Andrea became interested in science while attending Hunter College in New York City. She majored in pre-med and briefly considered a career in medicine. But, her real passion was for art and nature. She went on to further develop her illustration skills at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan.

Andrea back in the Bronx, before her career started to take off.

Early in her career she was an author and illustrator of children’s books, including the best-selling title, The Guinea Pigs’ Adventure (published by Little Brown). It was based on a real life experience she had while living in Woodstock, NY (yes, that Woodstock!). Her two pet guinea pigs escaped from their cage and into the nearby woods, little knowing that their adventure would be immortalized in a charming children’s book. Thirteen years ago she began painting seriously in watercolor. She studies her subjects carefully, then lets her hand, eye and natural inclinations take over in response to the colors and forms that excite her. One satisfied client has described Andrea’s work as "realism with a touch of poetry."

Her talents have earned national acclaim: The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation picked her to create their theme poster "65 Roses". Her floral images have been used as fundraisers and have raised multi-millions to help find a cure for CF.

Portal Publications commissioned her best selling "Chili Peppers" poster, which sold over a million copies.

She is presently licensing her designs for a wide range of products for such companies as Papel Giftware, Thomas Nelson Designs, Schurman Fine Paper, Toland and Kay Dee. A more complete list of licensees can be found under "Licensed Products".

Whether she’s painting exotic blossoms and local flora or on location around the world, strolling Manhattan’s numerous flower show and green-markets in search of her next subject or enjoying her newly acquired hobbies of bird watching and working on genealogy, Andrea brings a genuine love of life to her art. Although she loves the stimulation of city life, she makes frequent "getaway" trips to upper New York State and Connecticut to sketch and paint and bask in the glories of nature.

One afternoon a week she leaves her studio to teach art to children ages 4 to 9 at St. Luke’s School in Greenwich Village. Andrea and her husband, Dennis Kendrick, also a licensing artist (http://www.bankstreetdesigns.com) live in their loft in Greenwich Village with their three cats, Lousa May Allcat, Magnolia and Buster, none of which have the slightest inclination toward art.