How It All Began
I started drawing at an early age. I might have been 1,5 or 2 years old. Like many other children, I drew what I saw, what I wanted to see or, on a rare occasion, what scared me.
A young artist in me submerged in an ocean of imagination. The magical world on the surface of a drawing was a perfect escape for an anxious child. Sometimes I wished the world I had created was real. And, in a way, it was real to me. Day after day I would come back to my colorful paradise and forget about all the troubles of the everyday life.
As I was getting older, the desire to escape diminished. I wanted to face reality with all its beauty and ugliness. During that time I was trying to choose an art style, but could not stick with one.
After 10+ years of exploring various methods of self-expression, I decided I did not have to choose one to maintain my identity, but it did not mean I did not set any boundaries at all. I settled on a few creative ways to express my feelings, thoughts and intuitive insights and now you can see the whole variety in the Portfolio and Projects sections (in the top navigation bar).
Let me explain the motivation behind each creative direction and project.
Photography
I wished to be a photographer at some point in my life. When I was 11, my dearest wish was to receive a photo camera for my 12th birthday. My parents bought me an easy-to-use one. I don’t remember the exact type of camera I had, but here is what I know: it was a Zenith film camera, besides manual settings it had auto-settings for a different kind of weather, distance, and type of photograph (portrait, landscape, etc.) My dad taught me how to develop black-and-white film and photos in a darkroom. Sitting in an improvised darkroom and messing with the pictures was a fun and exciting process. I don’t have many of those “masterpieces” left, but here are a few of them (the blurry school pictures).
I loved taking and developing pictures, but, unfortunately, I did not have enough patience to study photography seriously. So I guess, till this day, I remain a passionate immature in this field and, to be honest, I’m not sure if I will ever become an expert. But it does not mean I can not attempt to become a professional and use photography as a moneymaking way to express myself.
Symbolism
At the age 15, I struggled to find a perfect style to which to adhere. One day I took a piece of paper, clueless about what I was going to do. I gazed at its blank surface as if expecting it to give me answers. Suddenly I noticed thin gray lines emerging. I thought to myself, "why don't I follow them?" And at that moment the new way of self-expression was born. To be honest, I don’t know what those lines were, but back then I found them useful. When I followed the strange guides, I drew the most unexpected compositions. I loved the process so much - I decided to use it as a foundation for my signature style.
Unfortunately, as the years went by, following the lines turned into an overwhelming chore and lost its initial attractiveness. During that difficult period and many years beyond, I entertained myself by trying out various meditation techniques. As a result, I turned my eye to the method and the style and reinvented it. Now I call it Symbolism since each drawing is like a symbol with thousands of meanings – a story within a story within a story. Nowadays I don’t follow the lines (not as much as in the past), but I still let my intuition guide me. In a way, the process of creating each drawing resembles a meditation.
Energy Drawing
This digital art style developed after many months of using one particular meditation technique (which I am not going to mention right now.) As a result, I developed a strong desire to create digital drawings (which I decided to call energy drawings) for myself, family members and friends. They were intuitive insights into a person’s state of mind, personal challenges, strengths, and weaknesses. In a way, they were aura portraits. I did not want to use the word “aura,” so I called them Energy Drawings.
Photo Manipulation
When I learned how to draw, I dreamt of becoming a hyperrealistic painter. Well, I did not have enough patience to accomplish the goal and switched directions. Later I went through a Law of Attraction theory phase. I’m not sure if I can call it a theory or I should call it a fantasy instead, nevertheless, I enjoyed making dreams come true in my mind for a year or two (until I got bored.) During that period, I Photoshopped myself into ideal settings and enjoyed doing it immensely. So, I got off the track a little and started messing with digital editing adding the Photo Manipulation to the list of skills. I still love mixing photography and drawing, that is why Digital manipulation is still one of the methods of self-expression I use.
Logo design
Logo design is not something I intend to do full-time, but who knows, somebody may order a logo or two for their company or whatnot. I added logo design to my portfolio because I created quite a few of them for myself and had a client (a restaurant owner) who ordered a new logo and menu design. You can find logos on the Logo Design page. If you would like for me to design a logo for personal use or business, please go to the Contact page and send me a message. Price: $20 and up.
Music
Back in high school, I organized a rock band. I was a guitar soloist, lead singer, and songwriter. Unfortunately, the group fell apart after only four years. We had trouble finding a drummer, and when bass guitarist notified us he was going to play part-time in a different band, it was clear it would be hard to preserve the team and its enthusiasm to succeed. I continued writing songs, but motivation slowly dissipated. In 2013 I set a goal to regain lost skills. Unfortunately, I didn’t have much time to play guitar during the day, so I woke up early or stayed up late to practice (I was also using the time to write a book.) Within a few months, I exhausted myself. One night I was working on a computer (editing the book probably) and fell asleep. I did not even remember how it happened. I woke up three hours later and realized: I could not lift my left hand. You might say, “happens to everyone.” Well, hours later I still could not move it. I went to a doctor in the morning, the diagnosis radial nerve palsy. The recovery took four months (which is pretty good.) After I regained movement in my hand, I could not use it as much as I used to without experiencing pain. Years later it hurts even more. The hand injury took the wind out of the sails, and since then I held the guitar in my hands about five times. I made a few videos (home-made experimental stuff) with my music before the injury, you can find them on the Music page. So what is next? I know it will be difficult to regain skills I had lost many years ago with time limitations and pain. I may have to find a new way to self-express through music, do justice to the songs I had written and, maybe, start writing new ones.