Artist Statement/Biography (optiona...
My first attempts at painting happened while I was in high school. At that time, I lived with my parents in the former Soviet Union, where I received my education and cultural influence. The most common painting mediums I could find then in local stores were gouache, tempera, and watercolors, which were used broadly in traditional Russian decorative painting and iconography. Over the years, I have found this to be a major influence in my artistic career. After my relocation to the US, for many years, I was practicing decorative and mural painting in Indiana, Central Florida, and Connecticut in private residences, children’s facilities, and other offices. During that time, I was also focusing on taking care of my family, raising my three sons, and teaching in private settings and at the independent day school, Ezra Academy. Nowadays, thanks to the wonderful opportunities of internet study, I focus on perfecting my fine art skills and developing more sophisticated styles. I attend Zoom meetings, critiques, and seminars offered by CSOPA, I’m regularly practicing live figure sketching at the ALNB and Wethersfield Academy for the Arts, and going painting En Plein air with my friends and CPAPS artists. I absolutely LOVE it! I believe that we can grow as artists only through consistent communication and sharing our talents. My influential artists are Ivan Kramskoy, Isaac Levitan, John Singer Sargent, Sir Anthony van Dyck, Hudson River School artists, and many, many others :)