Although Achara never attended art school, she always painted as a hobby, and took classes on acrylic. She always created paintings as gifts for her beloved friends. After moving to work at the hospital on Koh Yao Noi, Katair surprisingly found out that Ani Art Academy would be opening on the island. When the school opened, she joined the program with the first group of students.

Akeem B. Laing (b. 1995) was born in Jamaica, but migrated to Anguilla in 2009. While attending secondary school, he was introduced to visual art. Akeem had the opportunity to work with ceramic, drawing and graphic design for three years. He was always inspired by numerous of artist especially his art teacher Mr. Lieba. He continues to explore his love for art and natural talent by attending the Ani Art Academy using charcoal as his medium to portray his passion for sports.

Alejandro Queris Calderon was born on the island of Puerto Rico. His family relocated to Orlando, Florida where he grew up drawing and loving all forms of art. He has been a professional tattoo artist for the past twenty years. When ever possible he would attend courses at the Crealde School of Art in Winter Park, Florida where he studied drawing, painting, photography and ceramics. After finding the Ani Art Academies, always having a passion for classical realism, he decided to pursue his dream of representational art. Alejandro was accepted into the prestigious Ani Art Academies Thailand where he is continues to hone his skills in drawing and painting.

A New Jersey native, Alessandra Alma was introduced to the arts at an early age through various drawing, dance and music lessons.  She often jokes that she joined the family business, since she has a family member in every branch of the military or work for the government.  From 2002 to 2006, Alessandra served in the US Air Force as a Communications & Information Officer and worked in the Information Technology industry before becoming fully disabled.  She has a B.S. in Management E-Commerce from New Jersey Institute of Technology and a M.S. in Public Relations and Corporate Communications from New York University.

(b. 1988) Alexander D Jove was raised in a small town in the Midwest. Since he was a child, Alex always wanted to live a life with art at the core. In 2012, he made a serious effort to make the art he always wanted. He moved to La Paz, Bolivia to train with international muralist, Gonz Jove (his father). Working with Gonz for 3 years had been an amazing and informative experience, though there was still much to learn. There has always been a strong attraction to realism for Alex. He always admired the work of the old masters and the classical painting tradition. After learning about the Art Renewal Center he also learned about Aní Art Academy. He is now an apprentice under Anthony Waichulis with a dream of finding his artistic voice through logic and discipline.

He is a young art student born on November 2, 1995, in the Dominican Republic east of Santo Domingo. His passion for art began at an early age, and at the age of 9 he began to trace cartoons and at 11 he already knew that he wanted to dedicate himself to art. At the age of 14, he entered the national school of visual arts where he learned the basic concepts of drawing, painting, and sculpture. For reasons of secondary education, he was forced to leave his artistic pursuits for a few years, until he was able to resume at the age of 17. Alexander at 18, needed to look for a job and he experimented in the area of tattooing and other trades. It was also around this time that he became a student of the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo to study painting. After two years, he met two fellow Artists, Joel Herrera and Kelvin Lugo, who told him about Ani Art Academies and invited him to visit the school in Rio San Juan. Seeing that this gathers all the content that he has always sought, he decided to move to Rio San Juan and become an apprentice. Today he continues studying at Ani Art Academies Dominicana, doing tattoos, and commission work in various mediums. 

(b. 1986) Alicia is a realist artist based out of Central New Jersey.  Growing up in an artistic family, Lang has taken an interest in drawing since childhood. Unsure about her future, she took the safe route of a county college right out of high school and attended Union County College in Cranford, N.J. where she graduated with an Associate’s in Fine Arts/Visual Arts/Liberal Arts in 2008.  During this time she also studied at the duCret School of Art in Plainfield, N.J. from 2005-2008.It was at duCret where she was first introduced to painting and instructor/master painter Timothy Jahn. It wasn’t until the end of 2008 that she really started getting serious about her future and career as an artist. With minimal experience, Jahn took Lang under his wing as an apprentice at Jahn Studios. It was there that she honed her craft and trained her eye by following Jahn’s extremely rigorous program.Lang is now represented in galleries such as Scottsdale Fine Art in Scottsdale, Arizona and Swain Galleries in Plainfield, New Jersey. Her work has also been exhibited at the Salmagundi Club and Monmouth University, along with auctions and fundraisers.  She has made appearances in the Artist Magazine, Southwest Art Magazine, and Garden State Woman.com. She was awarded first place in the Artist Magazine Student Division competition, 3rd place in the 2013 Annual ARC Scholarship Competition, The Philip Eisenberg Award at the Salmagundi Club Annual Members Show, and scholarships from Union County College. Lang is currently a full time student at Ani Art Academy Waichulis in Bear Creek Twp., PA. She plans to graduate from the painting program with hopes to continue selling work and open a school in New Jersey.

(b.1992) Amelvi always felt a love for art, but didn't have any opportunities to study it as a child. After highschool, he moved to Santiago to study Graphic Design. He was only able to study for a short amount of time due to his families income, and returned home to Rio San Juan. When he returned he met a student studying at the Ani Art Academies Dominicana and was invited to come visit the school. Once he saw the school, he realized what a huge opportunity it was for him to continue his artistic studies without having to worry about his funding. After he interviewed and was accepted, Amelvi feels extremely happy to be a part of the Ani family.

(1994) Ana was born and raised in Rio San Juan, Dominican Republic. She discovered she was really interested in art in elementary school, and remembers her teacher's being upset with her for neglecting her work in favor of doodling. Later when she was a high school, she participated in an "Art Olympics" where she won first place. Once she graduated from high school, she found out about Ani Art Academies Dominicana where she was very eager to attend. Now a part of the academy, Ana has recently started her first drawing and feels incredibly happy with how far she's come and can't wait to see how much farther she will go on her artist journey. 

Andrea Bills has been interested in the arts since childhood, but began to want to pursue it as a career in high school. She spent ten years working as a freelance artist, and in 2012 discovered the Language of Drawing Program on Facebook. After working through the curriculum at home, she wanted to take the next step and further her education by becoming a full-time apprentice with Anthony Waichulis.

Taya has been fond of nature and the arts since she was young. She is a self-taught muralist in her hometown of Phuket, Thailand. She first learned about Ani Art Academies from her sister, who works at the Ani Villas Thailand resort. She was inspired by work created by the Ani Apprentices and decided to quit her job and study with Rodney O'Dell Davis at Ani Art Academies Thailand. 

(b.1996) Berlyn remembers being incredibly interested in and inspired by art from a very young age and telling her father how much she loved it. She never once lost sight of her dream of becoming an artist, and once she finished high school, she immediately went to the Ani Art Academies Dominicana to find out how she could become an apprentice. After she interviewed, she was accepted and granted a unique opportunity that will help her fulfill her dream.  Her goal is to show her talent and passion for art by staying dedicated every day, and hopes to become a great artist.

Bonnie Grace Evans was born in Wilkes-Barre, PA and currently lives in Kingston, PA. She received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in both elementary education and psychology from Wilkes University, a Master’s of Science degree in Special Education from Marywood University, and a Professional Supervisory Certificate in Special Education from Bloomsburg University. During her career as special education teacher, educational consultant for the PA Department of Education, and most recently as Supervisor of Special Education in Early Intervention Preschool, Bonnie always found time to pursue her love of art. She also studied jewelry design and attended various workshops to enhance her skills working with fine and sterling silver. Her jewelry design work can be seen both online, at Itsosarah Designs website, and at Art on Main in Pittston, PA. Bonnie has been studying oil painting since 2015 with Terese Rogers, Ani Art Academy Waichulis graduate. Most recently she has exhibited her oil paintings at Artists for the Arts Gallery in Scranton, PA, and at the Circle Center for the Arts in Wilkes-Barre, where she received an Honorable Mention Certificate of Recognition.  Bonnie’s inspiration for creating her art comes from studying the simple beauty of the lines and colors in nature, the innocence of young children, and the beauty of diversity witnessed in her travels. 

Brandon D. Drake (b. 1989) can't think of a time in his childhood when he wasn't drawing on a scrap of paper; art has always been a part of his life.  His father, a retired illustrator/graphic designer for AT&T and Bell Laboratories, heavily influenced his decision to pursue art as a career.  Brandon, a graduate of the duCret School of Art class of 2012, wanted to further his technical capacity and gain as much knowledge on the subjects of draftsmanship, drawing, and painting.  While at duCret he also began studying with Timothy W. Jahn, in 2009, where he began the drawing program developed by Anthony Waichulis.In the beginning of 2012 Brandon started studying directly under Anthony Waichulis at the Ani Art Academy Waichulis, in the program which so many artists have emerged from and built successful careers.  "I hope to push my technical capabilities in order to create the most believable images I can." says Drake.  Finally feeling as though he is coming into his own with a unique voice and conceptual take on the ideas and image that intrigue him.  Having a fond interest with Biblical undertones, he is diligently working to achieve a believable representation of something that Brandon believes is rarely, if ever, truly seen.

Brandon was born in St Thomas in 1992 and migrated to Anguilla in 1999. He found art to be an outlet and a way to express himself. Being born with Asperger syndrome, as a child art was one of the best ways he could accomplish that. During school Brandon saw art as more of a hobby and never considered creating it at a professional level. As soon as he heard of Ani Art Academies; however, he was encouraged by his peers and jumped on the opportunity. Joining the Ani Art Academies inspired him to create more. “I want to be a part of Ani for an ever evolving reason, to reach a potential state of creativity, to let my ideas flow and hopefully become one of the greats. I have been drawing and trying to get out of the ordinary and into the extraordinary since I was six years of age... at least that is as far as I can remember. To create things from my perspective and even others is a feeling I enjoy. Knowing that I made it is what I guess giving birth would feel like.”

(b.1969) Brian O’Neill’s work has been showcased in galleries across The U.S., Canada, Japan and England. O’Neill is most noted for his floral paintings and drawings and has been an avid gardener and nature enthusiast most of his life.In the spring of 2009 O’Neill was accepted as an apprentice at the world renowned Ani Art Academy Waichulis under the guidance of acclaimed realism painter, Mr. Anthony Waichulis. O’Neill’s commitment to excellence proved to be a perfect fit for the high level of work produced by the studio and Brian’s creations have received international praise and acquisition.O’Neill’s work has garnered numerous awards which include a Jurors Choice Award at the prestigious Naples Museum of Art for the Blossom 2: Art of Flowers Premier Exhibition, inclusion in the two year traveling museum exhibition of Blossom, The Pastel Journal Top 100 Competition 2nd Place and Honorable Mention, Artists Magazine Annual Art Competition Honorable Mention, The ARC Art Renewal Center’s Annual Salon Competition, and The Artists Magazine On-Line All Media Competition Honorable Mention.    “My responsibility as an artist is one that asks me to create not because I want to but because I have to, I am driven to make work that is at the highest level possible and depict beauty as I feel it to be and describe that in a language that can be read by all people who view my work even if we have never met in person” –Brian O’Neill