Prokopenko, Stan

I was born in Odessa, Ukraine and came to America at the age of six. At the age of 13, I pronounced myself as a lifelong student of art. Since then I have devoted my life to the arts. During high school, I got an internship at Sony Online Entertainment to animate for the upcoming video game, Everquest II. I wrote an article on animation for Imagine Magazine at Johns Hopkins University and created a five minute animated short film, ″A Game of Pool″, which featured on all American Airlines flights in September through December of 2004.

In 2003, I began studying at the Watts Atelier of the Arts in Encinitas, California, where I got most of my arts training. After attending the Watts Atelier for many years, my focus shifted from animation to fine art painting. In 2007, I became a teacher at the Watts Atelier of the Arts and have taught drawing and painting classes on numerous topics such as portrait, figure, quick sketch, and plein air landscape.

Education

Watts Atelier of the Arts, Encinitas, CA (2002 – Present)
Courses in Head Drawing, Figure Drawing, Quick Sketch, Plein Air Painting in Oil, Portrait in Oil, Illustration, Storyboarding, Anatomy, Facial Expressions, Caricatures, Environmental Design, Perspective, Composition, Animal Sketching, Gouache and many more specialty courses.

Teaching Experience

Watts Atelier of the Arts, Encinitas, California (2007 – Present)
Courses Taught: Portrait Drawing, Portrait Painting, Drawing and Painting from Photographs, Figure Quicksketch, 20-Minute Figure Lay-ins, Oil Painting Essentials, Plein Air Landscape Painting, Painterly Drawing, and Introduction to Tonal Drawing
Canyon Crest Academy, San Diego, California (2009 – Present)
Courses Taught: Drawing and Painting the Portrait

Exhibitions

OPA 19th National Juried Exhibition, Legacy Gallery, Scottsdale, Arizona (2010)
Art in The Pines Art Festival, Torrey Pines State Reserve, San Diego, California (2010)
Julian and the San Diego Back Country: A Centennial Exhibition of the California Art Club, The Julian Art Gallery, Julian, California (2009)
Taste of Russia, St. Nicholas Orthodox Church, San Diego, California (2009)
Images of the Figure, Boehm Gallery at Palomar College, San Marcos, California (2009)
Influences, Art Institute of California, San Diego, California (2008)
Instructor Show, Berringer Gallery, Encinitas, California (2008)
Group show with SDDG, Art Produce Gallery, San Diego, California (2007)
Drawing: More or Less, Art Institute of California, San Diego, California (2006)
Presidential Scholars in the Arts, Smithsonian Institute: American Art Museum, Washington D.C.(2004)

Awards

Member′s Choice Award, OPA 19th National Juried Exhibition
2nd Place, Art in The Pines 2010 Plein Air Competition
California Art Club Centennial Logo Competition Winner
Presidential Scholar in the Arts
Level 1 Winner , NFAA ARTS Awards
Winner, 2003 International Student Media Festival in Anaheim
Overall Winner, 22nd Annual Congressional Art Competition in Washington D.C.
Achievement Award for Fine Arts, Bank of America

Memberships

Oil Painters of America (2010)
Portrait Society of America (2010)
American Impressionist Society (2010)
California Art Club (2009 – Present)
West Coast Drawing Group (2006 – 2009)
Publications
California Art Club (2010)
Seven Days (2005)
KPBS, Featured in a Documentary (2004)
Imagine Magazine, wrote "My 3D World: Adventures in Computer Animation" (2004)
YoungArts Magazine (2004)
San Diego Union Tribune "Mt. Carmel senior makes his mark as scholar" (2004)
San Diego Union Tribune "High school student′s film dream takes off" (2004)
USA Today (2004)
Corridor News (2004)
Who’s Who Among American High School Students (2001/2002)