In art each artist develops in his own way. Some artists discover their gifts in later years, as if at will, other talents grow and develop from young years.
The Volgograd artist Andrey Vystropov resolved to become an artist at the age of 15. As if making up for the missed years, he promptly and successfully overcame all the various stages in the official system of professional advancement, which in the former USSR took decades.
Vystropov started his studies in the art and graphics department of St.Petersburg Pedagogical institute. In 1982 , with taking any examinations, he transferred to the second grade of Repin's Institute of Painting, the former Royal Academy of Art, in St.Petersburg. He mastered drawing in the studio of the famous Russian painter and art historian , E.E.Mojseenko.
Vystropov's final-year work, a painting entitled "Widows", was recognized as the best graduation work in 1987. In 1988, the picture was shown in New York at the exhibition "Best students" works of the USSR Academy of Art at the New York Academy of Art. In 1989, Vystropov joined the Union of Artists of the former USSR.
The externals of the artist's life are those things that testify to the successes achieved, but they do not tell us anything about the person's creative development. The development of talent depends to a considerable extent on circumstances. In the case of Andrey Vystropov the circumstances were most fortunate: the perfect city, the perfect school, the perfect teacher. The wealth of art and the intellectual atmosphere of St.Petersburg , the remarkable assets of the art museums there, the century-long tradition of the the Academy of Art, provided the conditions for a profound and fruitful experiencing of world art from the classics up to the avantgarde. Here, Vystropov perfected his technical skills and came to know the great artists.