Figurative Painting

I love painting and drawing figures, rendering the movement and the gesture of the body. It is all about telling a story of the person I paint and how to express this in a dynamic and lively way.

Portrait

Portrait painting can be very challenging at times, but very rewarding as well. It requires a high level of concentration, sometimes it feels like doing a puzzle, one shape at a time!

My main goal , when creating a portrait is the expression of the subject. It is not an easy task, even if you follow all the existing theories and rules on how to draw and paint a portrait. It is about constant comparison of the forms and shapes, the relationship of the planes, angles and levels,. Also, the behavior of the light has a huge impact on how the shapes form.

For me the most important thing is what I want to say about the character that I am painting. I find it challenging, but at the same time it can be immensely rewarding, when you look at your painting and it is a success.

The key to successful portrait painting (and other painting genres also relate to this technique) is in stepping back, even leaving it and coming back in a couple of hours, which helps you to see your mistakes and correct them. And if you are completely stuck and do not see what exactly is wrong, do a mirror check. It works like magic!

Creating a series of portraits of my family members was one of my projects in 2022.

Landscape

I find painting landscapes relaxing and meditative. It is impossible to render the incredible beauty of nature, we can only try to recreate it, being very humble in our ambitions.

What really helps me is the direct observation of nature and learning from nature.
We, artists, don't have to copy a scene, because our mission is to create an emotional response to the scene and try to express our own unique vision.
Another important skill we have to learn is the art of simplification! And always remember: less is more!

Before you start painting a landscape, there is so much to consider, even if it is from a reference photo: the effect of light, the interplay of light and shadow, the atmospheric conditions, the dance of the colours in the light, reflected light, soft, hard and lost and found edge are all so impactful on the result you want to achieve.
There are so many theories on how to paint a beautiful landscape..., but there is no magic formula! My way is using the blueprint of the process of painting that I have learnt from my amazing teachers combined with a direct observation of nature herself. Lots of squinting technique to see the big value shapes is involved here!

Still Life Painting

I have always thought before that painting a still life was boring... Nowadays, I really enjoy doing a still life, especially when the composition is created by myself. There is so much to consider again: different shapes interplay, light effect on the objects, reflected light and mysterious shadows.

It is rewarding to watch how ordinary objects turn into a harmonious composition and a lovely painting at the end!

Wild Life

Every animal has a character, which is emphasized by the environment it is surrounded by. To catch that character and render it is quite a serious task! What I try in my paintings is to be faithful to this idea. The horses at the fenced farm longing for freedom. The bear is tired and sleepy after his long search for food. The little kitten is begging for milk and love. Even the bees have such a charisma!