Adriana V.

Addie was a teenage student at the Visual Art Institute, who went on to study professional illustration at Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) in Portland, Oregon. She credits her summers at VAI’s Figure Academy and year-round classical training with VAI’s excellent instructors for helping her be accepted to and pay for art school. She was awarded 85% of her 4-year PNCA tuition in scholarships.

When asked about her experience at VAI, Addie said:

“There was a lot of creative play in our classes, but also self discipline and maturity. It was a safe place where I could ask questions and do hard things. After high school, I felt capable and self-motivated as a young artist entering college, and I know it was because of the experiences I’d had at VAI beforehand.”

Since 2012, Addie has been working as an editorial and advertising illustrator. She collaborates with art directors across the country to fill magazines and newspapers with story-telling artwork and to enhance brand image for international companies. Her editorial clients include The New York Times, NPR and Johns Hopkins Magazine, as well as many smaller national publications. Addie is the Lead Graphic Designer at Visual Art Institute. She loves creating the colorful window banners and seasonal campaign imagery for VAI to help more people learn about the school’s creative programs. All the illustration work on this website was made by her! You can view more of Addie’s work at adrianavawdrey.com.