The following profiles are of recent SORA students.

Shawn Minogue

Shawn is a 53 year old, self employed business man. He started his art career five years ago when he signed up for classes at the Art Institute. Although he had no prior art experience, he enjoyed taking these part time classes for two years. When looking to expand his art skills, one of his Art Institute teachers suggested SORA. He has been a part time student at SORA for 2 years and has come to enjoy all the challenges and experiences this school brings to him.

Charlie Critchelow

Born in the small rural town of Hardinsburg, KY, Charlie attended college at the University of Kentucky and graduated with a BS in Economics and BA in Finance. After school he worked for Fidelity Investments for 4 years as a Financial Representative. "It was the time between graduating high school and the end of my first job out of school that my interests in art really began to grow. After several years of trying to teach myself how to draw and paint realistically, I decided to study at an atelier". In 2004 he moved to Lafayette Indiana to study at the Lafayette Atelier. He was a part-time student there for five years. "Over my time studying in Lafayette I realized that I wanted to continue my education and try to become a serious artist. After looking at many schools across the country I decided on SORA". In the fall of 2009 he moved to Chicago and began full-time study at SORA.

Matt Greene

Matt Greene hails from Cleveland, OH, and came to SORA after studying with professional portrait artist Bill Kufahl for several years. Finding a need for a change in his studies, he looked at different ateliers around the country and finally decided on SORA for the quality of the student and teachers work, and also the opportunity to learn about composition. He is currently a first year student.

Peggy H. Moore

Peggy is a 61 year old retired corporate executive in the energy/utility business. She received a BS and MS in psychology/social work and pursued a MBA from the University of Wisconsin. Peggy cannot remember a time when she wasn't drawing or painting, even if it was just "doodling" during business meetings. After an absence of almost 25 years from the study of art, Peggy suddenly found herself drawn into "art making" vacations. In 2005, she started incorporating painting workshops into vacation plans studying with nationally recognized artists Albert Handel, Margaret Carter Baumgaertner and Susan Sarback. In 2009, Peggy retired from the business world and, with encouragement of Ms. Baumgaertner, decided to pursue serious study in drawing and painting. She studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and spent a year studying at The Palette & Chisel Academy in Chicago. After a year at the Palette, Peggy decided that she wanted to fulfill a childhood dream of becoming a professional artist in the tradition of representational realism. A couple of her teachers at the Palette recommended SORA, if she was interested in a more focused, disciplined curriculum that would equip her with the experience and necessary skills to produce high quality professional art work. Peggy is in her second year of part time study at SORA and plans to complete the four year program.

Doken Rotunno

Doken was inspired to study art after viewing a Michelangelo drawing exhibit at the British Museum in London. Shortly thereafter, he enrolled in an university BFA prgram and was taught Art history, photography, and design. However, he felt the program was offered insufficient training in the drawing and painting realistically. Luckily, he found SORA. After a year of Saturday morning drawing classes, he rearranged his work schedule to become a full-time student.

Nathan Silver

Nathan is from Chevy Chase, MD. He graduated from Kenyon College in 2010 with a BA in English and Studio Art. He moved to Chicago to further his studies at SORA and work towards a career as a professional artist. When he was a child Nathan began expressing himself through drawings of people, dinosaurs and trucks and feels remarkably lucky to continue his childhood passion. "I've found SORA to be a perfect blend of independent study and professional art instruction."

Laura Catherwood

After a happy childhood in Crystal Lake, IL, Laura went to the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. She spent three years studying mammalian limb development and genetics before getting a degree in molecular and cellular biology. After graduating, Laura went straight to SORA to study her true interest: fine art. She is enjoying her first year and the improvement in her artistic skills from studying at SORA.