I am Andrea D'Avignon Brown and have recently moved to Houston from Austin, Texas where I am working as a freelance artist.  I grew up in North Houston, so it is nice to be home after a 10 year absence.  From as early as kindergarten, I remember my love for art, and would create drawings and paintings any opportunity that came along.  In middle school, I received a scholarship and studied art at The Glassell School of Art in Houston.  I began my formal pursuit of art when I entered the College of Fine Arts at The University of North Texas in 1998.  There I studied painting, drawing and art history until I transferred to Texas State University in 2002.  There, I continued my studies and completed my senior thesis in drawing.  I was a featured artist in the Senior Group Thesis Exhibition, Bring it on, where one of my pieces was selected to promote the show's opening and was displayed on the university's website homepage.  Since graduating in May 2004 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Studio Art, I have continued drawing and painting and do a great deal of comissioned work.  I also designed and created promotional marketing as well as in-house visuals for Chili's Grill & Bar in Lewisville, Texas and for Chuy's Hula Hut in Austin.  I was a featured artist in an art and fashion show in Austin, Le Chic Groove, in August 2005 where I was able to gain some exposure.  Currently, I am working on an official website to promote my own work, which I call Art d'Avignon.  It is a collection of acrylic figure paintings and pastel drawings, and  also includes custom artistic portraits of people and animals created from photographs. The site will be completed by the end of April 2006, and all pieces will be available for purchase.  Commissioned work will also be encouraged; I love creating custom pieces for anyone.  I will continue the exploration of my work and of myself through more painting and studying on my own, and I am looking forward to the growth of Art d'Avignon in the future.